John A. Macdonald Memorial (Grandmaison)

The John A. Macdonald Memorial is a public sculpture in bronze of Sir John A. Macdonald by Sonia de Grandmaison and John Cullen Nugent, located at the south entrance to Victoria Park, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the last statue of Macdonald still standing in a public space in a major Western Canadian city.

John A. Macdonald Memorial
ArtistSonia de Grandmaison
John Cullen Nugent
Year1967
MediumBronze
SubjectJohn A. Macdonald
Dimensions1.874 m × 1.905 m × 0.518 m (6.15 ft × 6.25 ft × 1.70 ft)
LocationRegina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Work

Situated at the south entrance to Victoria Park, the bronze sculpture was cast in five pieces by using a "lost wax technique", and soldered together by artist John Cullen Nugent,[1] a technique he learned from candlemaking. It stands 1.874 × 1.905 × 0.518 m.[2]

The plaque underneath the statue reads "John A. Macdonald, Father of Confederation."

History

Commission and unveiling

Fundraising in Regina for a statue to commemorate Macdonald's achievements as Canada's first Prime Minister began in 1891 after Macdonald's death, but it was not commissioned until 1966.[1] The statue was officially unveiled in 1967, the year of the Canadian Centennial.

Calls for removal and vandalism

Reassessments of Macondald's role in Canadian history, particularly his assimilationist policies toward Indigenous Canadians and racist views of Asian immigrants,[3] led to statues of Macdonald being vandalized and removed in other cities in the first decades of the 21st century. The Regina memorial was vandalized at least three times between 2012 and 2018.[4]

In August 2017, a petition was launched for the removal of the Regina memorial.[5] The Change.org petition garnered 548 supporters before closing.[6]

Spray-paint incidents

Following the removal of a statue in Victoria, British Columbia in 2018, the Regina memorial was the only Macdonald statue still standing in a major city in Western Canada, one of a "handful" across the country.[7] That year, it was vandalized with spray paint in February[8] and again on 21 August.[7] Vibank musician Patrick Johnson contacted the Regina Leader-Post to claim responsibility, saying it was an act of "peaceful protest", and that he painted the statue's hands red "to symbolize the blood... on Macdonald's hands."[9] He claimed to have also painted the statue before, after the verdict in Gerald Stanley's trial in February.[9]

Response by the mayor

Regina's mayor Michael Fougere characterized calls to remove the statue as trying "to erase history", but said he would be receptive to the idea of a plaque that would "contextualize" Macdonald, since "many things that he did are certainly difficult to accept by today's standards — and we should know about that."[3] After the statue was vandalized for the third time August 2018, he reiterated his earlier statements, and added "it's important to remember MacDonald's contributions to Indigenous and women's voting rights."[4]

Renewed calls for removal
Main article: George Floyd protests in Canada

In the midst of the anti-racism protests of 2020, which took place worldwide in solidarity with those following the killing of George Floyd while in police custody, and the removal of Confederate Army statues in the United States, Regina faced new calls to remove the Macdonald statue.[10] Early in June, it was reported that the statue was on a list of fifteen statues across Canada subject to petition for removal.[11] Several sculptures and monuments depicting historical figures across Canada "with ties to racist elements of Canada's past" were defaced, including a park bench statue of Macdonald covered in red paint in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.[12]

References
  1. "Sonia de Grandmaison: Sir John A. MacDonald (1966-67)". Downtown Regina Public Art Guide (PDF). Regina: Regina Downtown Business Improvement District. 2014. p. 14. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. Krueger, Jan (2006). Prairie Pots and Beyond. Volume 2 (thesis (M.A.)). Carleton University. p. 61. doi:10.22215/etd/2006-07892. S2CID 192270903. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. White-Crummey, Arthur (10 August 2018). "Regina mayor has no desire to follow Victoria's lead on Sir John A. Macdonald statue". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. Postey, Drew (22 August 2018). "Despite recent controversy Mayor Fougere disappointed to see MacDonald statue vandalized". 620 CKRM. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  5. "Petition calls for removal of John A. Macdonald statue in Regina". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  6. "Take down the John A. Macdonald". Change.org. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  7. Latimer, Kendall (23 August 2018). "Last John A. Macdonald statue in major Western Canada city seen painted 'red handed'". CBC News. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  8. "John A. MacDonald statue in Victoria Park vandalized". Cruz FM. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  9. "John A. Macdonald statue vandal says he painted Regina monument as a 'peaceful protest'". CBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. "'Their time has come': Calls increase for removal of statues linked to colonial legacy". CTV News. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  11. Brimacombe, Jody (12 June 2020). "15 racist statues in Canada that people want removed". Fresh Daily. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  12. Wright, Teresa (20 June 2020). "John A. Macdonald statue in Charlottetown covered with red paint". Winnipeg Free Press. The Canadian Press. p. A16.

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