John A. MacDonald statue taken down, to be moved to a cemetery

This morning a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald was removed from a park in Kingston, Ontario where it has stood for 126 years. After much debate, Kingston city council voted to relocate the statue of Canada’s first prime minister, who played a key role in implementing the Indian residential school system, to his burial site at a Kingston cemetery.

Members of the Indigenous community camped out in Kingston City Park for over a week prior to the statue’s removal this morning. Two protesters holding Canadian flags initially blocked crews from removing the statue, before being removed by police. Another delay occured when workers had to bring in heavier equipment than anticipated. The statue has been taken to storage and is expected to be moved to the cemetery at a later date.

In Montreal, the John A. MacDonald statue in Place du Canada was pulled down and decapitated during a protest last summer following multiple instances of vandalism over the years. ■

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