Monuments and memorials in Canada removed in 2020–2022

A number of monuments and memorials in Canada were removed or destroyed as a result of protests and riots between 2020 and 2022. These included six sculptures of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, three of other figures connected to the Canadian Indian residential school system (Alexander Wood, Egerton Ryerson and Joseph Hugonard), two of Canadian monarchs (Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II), one of the British explorer Captain James Cook and one of John Deighton ("Gassy Jack"), a bar-owner whose nickname inspired the name of Vancouver's Gastown district.

The initial protests in 2020 occurred in the context of the worldwide George Floyd protests,[1] which resulted in the widespread removal of monuments and memorials in the United States and other countries connected to systemic racism. In the spring of 2021, unmarked graves were discovered at the sites of several former residential schools.

List

Monument/memorial Location Province Removal announced Removed Means of removal Notes Ref.
A Canadian Conversation
Sir John A. Macdonald
Ruth Abernethy, 2015 		Baden Ontario Jul 27, 2020 c. Sep 3, 2020 Put into storage Wilmot Township Council voted on July 27 for the statue's immediate removal. [2]
[3]
[4]


Monument to Sir John A. Macdonald
George Edward Wade, 1895 		Montreal Quebec — Aug 30, 2020 Statue toppled and decapitated by protesters The toppling occurred during a Defund the Police protest; the statue had been a target of vandalism in the past. After three years of hesitation, it was announced the statue would not be reinstated. [5]
[6][7]


Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
Sonia de Grandmaison, 1966–1967 		Regina Saskatchewan Mar 31, 2021 Apr 7, 2021 Temporarily put into storage Regina City Council voted 7–4 to put the statue into storage while a new location is determined. [8]
[9]


Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
Mike Halterman, 2008 		Charlottetown Prince Edward Island May 31, 2021 Jun 1, 2021 Formal removal by city council Following the discovery of unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, First Nations protesters gathered for a vigil at the statue. Hours later, Charlottetown City Council voted to remove the statue. By 7am the next day, it was removed. [10]
[11]


Statue of Egerton Ryerson
Hamilton MacCarthy, 1887 		Toronto Ontario — Jun 6, 2021 After repeated vandalism, the statue was destroyed by protesters; pedestal and base removed by university The statue at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) was toppled and beheaded after a demonstration motivated by the 215 unmarked graves discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. University President Mohamed Lachemi announced that the statue "will not be restored or replaced". [12]
[13]
[14]


Holding Court
Sir John A. Macdonald
Ruth Abernethy, 2015 		Picton Ontario Jun 8, 2021 Jun 9, 2021 Formally put into storage by city council The council had voted to leave the statue in place in November 2020. In June 2021, it voted to remove the statue during an emergency session. In April 2022, it was decided to return the statue to its original donors, the Macdonald Project. [15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
George Edward Wade, 1895 		Kingston Ontario Jun 16, 2021 Jun 18, 2021 Temporarily put into storage On June 16, Kingston City Council voted 12–1 to relocate the statue from City Park. Plans to relocate the statue at Cataraqui Cemetery were eventually rejected by the cemetery's board, and as of August 2023, no final decision has been made. [19]
[20]
[21]


Monument to Joseph Hugonard
Charles Duncan McKechnie, 1927 		Lebret Saskatchewan Jun 17, 2021 Jun 21, 2021 Put into storage A protest camp had been set up at the site for some time until the Archdiocese of Regina agreed to the removal. The monument stands in a cemetery near the site of the Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School, which Hugonard helped found before becoming its first principal. There are no plans to install it elsewhere. [22]
[23]
[24]
Statue of Queen Victoria
George Frampton, 1904 		Winnipeg Manitoba — July 1, 2021 Toppled and beheaded by protesters During a protest on Canada Day, the statue outside the Manitoba Legislative Building was torn off its pedestal, splattered with red paint (which was also used to leave handprints on the pedestal) and beheaded. The head was thrown into the nearby Assiniboine River. Although initially the government intended to attempt repairing the monument, this was determined to not be possible. As of April 2023, no final decision has been made on whether to commission a new monument. [25]
[26]
[27]
[28]


Statue of James Cook
Derek and Patricia Freeborn, 1976 (after John Tweed, 1912) 		Victoria British Columbia — Jul 1, 2021 Toppled by protesters and thrown in nearby harbour On the night of July 1, the statue was thrown into the Inner Harbour, and its pedestal covered in red handprints. A makeshift statue of a red dress commemorating missing and murdered Indigenous women was put up in its place. Hours later, a totem pole in Malahat (30km away) was set on fire, apparently in retaliation for the toppling of the statue. [29]
[30]
[31]
[32]


Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald
George Edward Wade, 1893 		Hamilton Ontario — Aug 14, 2021 Toppled by protesters On July 8, Hamilton City Council voted 12–3 not to remove the statue in Gore Park. The Hamilton Indigenous Unity rally took place on the steps of Hamilton City Hall on August 14 to protest against this decision. After the rally, the protesters marched to Gore Park and toppled the statue. As of June 2023, plan existed to return the statue. [33]
[34]


Statue of John Deighton ("Gassy Jack")
Vern Simpson, 1970 		Vancouver British Columbia Feb 14, 2022 Feb 14, 2022 Toppled by protesters Toppled during the annual Women's Memorial March. Deighton married a 12-year-old Squamish girl. [35]

[36]


Statue of Alexander Wood
Del Newbigging, 2005 		Toronto Ontario — Apr 4, 2022 Removed and destroyed On June 8, 2021, the Church Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (CWVBIA), which originally installed the statue, called for it to be removed. The CWVBIA removed and destroyed the statue on April 4, 2022. [37]
[38]


Restored monuments

Monument/memorial Location Province Removal announced Removed Returned Notes Ref.
Statue of Queen Elizabeth II
Leo Mol, 1970 		Winnipeg Manitoba — July 1, 2021
Toppled by protesters 		June 2, 2023 Toppled in the same protest as that in which the statue of Queen Victoria was felled. [26]
[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Statue of Canada's first prime minister toppled by protesters demanding police defunding". Reuters. August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "A Canadian Conversation – Prime Minister Statues Project". Ruth Abernethy. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  3. ^ "Sir John A. Macdonald Statue in Baden to be relocated". KitchenerToday.com. July 28, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Baden moved into storage". CBC News. September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  5. ^ "Monument à Sir John A. Macdonald". City of Montreal. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Oduro, Kwabena (August 30, 2020). "Montreal city officials remove toppled statue of Sir John A. Macdonald". Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Teisceira-Lessard, Philippe (August 30, 2023). "Place du Canada au centre-ville de Montréal: John A. Macdonald ne reviendra pas sur son socle". La Presse. Montréal. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  8. ^ Atter, Heidi (April 13, 2021). "Sir John A. Macdonald statue removed from Regina's Victoria Park". CBC. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "Downtown Regina Public Art Guide" (PDF). Regina: Regina Downtown Business Improvement District. 2014. p. 14. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Ross, Shane (May 12, 2021). "Sir John A. sculptor says adding Indigenous figure would make 'pretty neat piece'". CBC. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Yarr, Kevin (June 1, 2021). "Sir John A. Macdonald statue quickly removed after Charlottetown council decision". CBC. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  12. ^ "Egerton Ryerson". Toronto Sculpture. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Saba, Rosa (June 6, 2021). "Protesters behead toppled statue of Egerton Ryerson following rally honouring residential school victims". thestar.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled after Toronto rally, 'will not be restored or replaced'". CBC News. June 6, 2021. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021.
  15. ^ Allan, Michelle (June 8, 2021). "Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Picton, Ont., to be kept in storage". CBC News. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Bell, Bruce (June 9, 2021). "Macdonald statue removed from Picton's Main Street". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  17. ^ Capon, Sue (November 18, 2020). "Sir John will continue to hold court in front of Picton's library". Countylive.ca. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Clarke, Andrew (April 28, 2022). "Sir John A. sculpture will have a new home". Quinte News. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Goulem, Brigid (June 18, 2021). "Sir John A. Macdonald statue removed from City Park". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  20. ^ Ferguson, Elliott (August 12, 2022). "Cataraqui Cemetery board votes against Macdonald statue relocation". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  21. ^ Ferguson, Elliott (August 31, 2023). "No plan yet for Kingston's Sir John A. statue". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  22. ^ Hustak, Alan (June 18, 2021). "RC Archdiocese agrees to relocate Hugonard statue". Herald-Sun. p. 5.
  23. ^ Salloum, Alec (June 21, 2021). "Statue of Father Hugonard removed, placed in storage, says Archdiocese". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  24. ^ Lipski, Candica (June 24, 2021). "Statue of residential school priest taken down in Lebret, Sask". CBC News. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  25. ^ Harris, Gareth (July 2, 2021). "Crowds topple statues of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II in Winnipeg amid anger over deaths of Indigenous children". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  26. ^ a b "Statues of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth toppled in Winnipeg on Canada Day". Winnipeg Sun. Canadian Press. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  27. ^ Lambert, Steve (June 22, 2022). "Damaged Queen Victoria statue is beyond repair, Manitoba government says". CTV. Winnipeg. The Canadian Press. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  28. ^ Lambert, Steve (April 10, 2023). "Site of toppled Queen Victoria statue at Manitoba legislature may be left open". CTV. Winnipeg. The Canadian Press. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Captain James Cook". LandMarks Public Art. Capital Regional District. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  30. ^ "West Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, UK". Captain Cook Society. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  31. ^ Dickson, Courtney (July 2, 2021). "Protesters toss statue of explorer James Cook into Victoria harbour; totem pole later burned". CBC News. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  32. ^ Lambert, Steve (July 2, 2021). "Fête du Canada: Des statues renversées par des manifestants dans plusieurs villes". La Presse (in French). Canadian Press. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  33. ^ Draaisma, Muriel; Ng, Jessica (August 14, 2021). "Sir John A. Macdonald statue toppled in Hamilton park after hundreds attend rally, march". CBC News. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  34. ^ Moro, Teviah (June 15, 2023). "A sign but no plan to reinstall Macdonald statue at Gore Park". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  35. ^ "Captain John Deighton (Gassy Jack)". Public Art Registry. City of Vancouver. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  36. ^ Anderson, Sarah (February 14, 2022). "Protesters topple Vancouver's Gassy Jack statue in Gastown". DH News. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  37. ^ O'Neil, Lauren (April 5, 2022). "Controversial statue in Toronto removed and destroyed without notice". blogTO. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  38. ^ "The Alexander Wood Statue In Toronto's Gay Village Has Been Destroyed". In Magazine. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  39. ^ Lambert, Steve (June 2, 2023). "Statue of Queen Elizabeth repaired and reinstalled at Manitoba legislature, 2 years after vandalism". CTV. Winnipeg. The Canadian Press. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
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