Mr Black renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2001 after a high-profile dispute with the then Liberal Prime Minister. Jean Chrétien accused him of accepting an appointment to the British House of Lords.

Prime Minister Chrétien had even warned Queen Elizabeth II that the Government believed a Canadian should not be appointed to the House of Lords, citing a 1919 non-binding resolution. Mr Black, who was a Canadian-British citizen, claimed that that Mr. Chrétien wanted revenge for past criticism. He eventually renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a British lord.

Conrad Black has provided The Canadian Press with a copy of an opinion piece he says will be published on Saturday National Post, the daily newspaper he founded and for which he regularly contributes. On this forum he says he received his Canadian passport at home this week.

He recalls that its status in Canada “was the subject of controversy and curiosity for a number of years”, adding that “these unpleasant memories” prompted the passport’s arrival “by express mail”. […] a particularly welcome event.

The Montreal-born former media mogul was convicted of fraud in the US in 2007 and spent time in federal prison in Florida. Prosecutors alleged a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers owned by Hollinger, of which he was CEO.

Mr Black was sent back to Canada and later pardoned by then-US President Donald Trump, about whom he wrote a glowing biography and called his friend. Under US law, a presidential pardon is a full legal pardon. Mr. Black has always claimed that he was the victim of an unfair justice system.

A spokesman for Secretary of State for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser said the department and the minister would not comment on specific cases, citing the Data Protection Act.