The City of Montreal will not reinstall the Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Place du Canada

This morning the City of Montreal adopted a recommendation not to reinstall the John A. Macdonald statue in Place du Canada. The decision, made on the advice of an ad hoc committee, is in keeping with Montreal’s reconciliation strategy with Indigenous peoples.

The bronze statue stood in Place du Canada for more than 125 years. During a protest to defund the police on Aug. 29, 2020, demonstrators toppled the statue, removing its head in the process. Among other controversial and abhorrent policies, the Macdonald government (1867 to 1873) oversaw the creation of residential schools in Canada. 

The city, which held public consultations about the statue and the evolution of the monument last December, also announced today that an explanatory plate will be installed beside the statue’s base to contextualize the monument. A call for proposals for a multidisciplinary artwork to replace the statue will be made in conjunction with Montreal’s heritage council before the end of the year, and the city is also in discussion with institutional partners to find a new public location for the John A. Macdonald statue.

“(The executive committee was aided in making this decision) thanks to the rigorous and in-depth work of an independent committee, not with the aim of erasing history but with the aim of confronting it with the values and concern of our time,” said Ericka Alneus, the executive committee member responsible for culture and heritage.

---

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.