John A Macdonald statue at Toronto park finally uncovered after 5 years despite Indigenous opposition

The statue of John A. Macdonald at Queen’s Park in Toronto is now visible again after being covered for five years, a move that has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders.

The wooden boarding that surrounded the monument since 2020 was taken down on Wednesday, following a vote by a legislative committee last month to remove the covering. The statue had been vandalized with pink paint during nationwide protests that targeted symbols linked to Canada’s colonial past as well as the residential school system.

Sol Mamakwa, a residential school survivor and the only First Nations member of the Ontario legislature, has been vocal in opposing the decision. “It's not just a statue,” he said following the committee’s vote, according to the CBC. “It's a statue of oppression. It is a statue of colonialism. It is a statue of Indian residential schools.”

Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, played a key role in designing the country’s residential school policy, which forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families and communities to assimilate them into Western culture.

Before the boarding was removed, children’s shoes that had been placed at the base of the statue in memory of the alleged unmarked graves at residential school sites. The shoes were “carefully and respectfully” taken away and stored, according to a statement issued by Speaker Donna Skelly.

“As Speaker, I recognize the sensitivities surrounding the history of Canada's first Prime Minister and I welcome all Ontarians to express their views — peacefully,” Skelly said. “Violence and acts of vandalism will not be tolerated, and the Legislative Protective Service will actively monitor the statue and grounds.”

Skelly also said she hopes a committee will approve a new monument to honor residential school survivors and invited Mamakwa to join that committee.

The statue was one of several across the country depicting the nation's first prime minister that was defaced. A notable statue in Montreal's Place du Canada was torn down by anti-Canada protesters who also decapitated the statue.