Sir John A. Macdonald’s story began in Kingston, but where does it end?

‘We went and did all the steps required by colonial procedures and got the statue taken down’

The statue was removed from City Park in 2021.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s legacy is woven into Canada’s history, with Kingston as the loom where a lawyer’s ambitious beginnings shaped the nation’s fabric.

Jan. 11 marks “Macdonald Day,” a celebration of the politician’s birthday—a day to honour our very first Prime Minister. Though a key figure in Canadian history, Macdonald’s legacy is much more embedded within Kingston, where he spent 15 years practicing law and launching his political career in the nation’s first capital. Macdonald’s legacy, however, is a controversial one at that.

Articles from Kingston’s The British Whig in the late 19th century refers to Macdonald as “Kingston’s son.” Kingston held a distinct sense of pride and paternalism toward Macdonald, cherishing its connection to such a monumental figure in Canadian history. Founded in 1834, The British Whig was Kingston’s weekly newspaper, serving the city and Eastern Ontario before being amalgamated with The Daily Standard to create The Kingston Whig-Standard.

Once celebrated as Canada’s hero, Macdonald’s legacy is now mired in controversy, as his policies harmed many of the country’s most marginalized communities and continue to negatively affect Indigenous peoples today. Such as, the land dispossession which he solidified under the British North American Act and the enforcement of residential schools.

The policies he instated and attitudes he inspired have led to poor land conditions and systematic mistreatment of Canada’s Indigenous population. The effects of this mistreatment have caused intergenerational trauma that’s been passed down through generations of Indigenous peoples, leading to depression and substance abuse issues.

Historical narratives are ever-changing and adapting. However, it’s worth reflecting on when the tides started to change—that is, when Macdonald began to lose his status as Canada’s hero. This versatile social history can be tracked through the treatment of Macdonald’s titular statue that once stood tall and mighty in City Park from 1895 until its removal in 2021.

On Oct. 23, 1895, The British Whig published an article about the unveiling of Macdonald’s new statue in City Park that took place that day.

“[Macdonald] was no rabid bigot, who could see no good in those who held views opposed to his own. Many of his warmest friends were men who were and are numbered in the ranks of the Liberal Party, and his handshake was just as firm, his greeting just as cordial, and his friendship just as warm and true in these cases as when his political sympathizers were concerned,” the paper wrote.

Based on the overall sentiment from this article, it’s clear the public and social climate of Kingston deeply respected Sir John A. Macdonald. He was regarded as a fair and well-minded individual who looked out for Canada’s best intentions. This dominant and traditional perspective on Macdonald’s role through history was reinforced through the historical canon of biographies, guided tours, plaques, buildings, and monuments.

Contemporary historical discourse is still in the early stages of voicing their complaints with Macdonald and his contributions to Canada’s racist and exclusionary current landscape. From 2010 and onwards, the public has made their voices heard in a fashion that can’t be ignored.

Initial vandalism of the statue

In 2013, the City Park Sir John A. Macdonald statue was vandalized on his birthday or “Macdonald Day.” The statue was painted with red graffiti with the words, “murderer,” “colonizer,” and the phrase “this is stolen land.” The graffiti ensued in response to an event taking place at the park that same day to celebrate his 198th birthday.

In 2021, years later, Kingston-based Indigenous activist group, The Revolution of the Heart, covered the statue with a red tarp. The revolutionary group was formed in June 2021 to protest Macdonald’s statue in response to the unmarked children’s graves that were discovered at the sites of former residential schools. Currently, the group continues to advocate for Indigenous rights and anti-colonial action.

The Revolution of The Heart told The Journal the colour red symbolizes many things.

“[The colour red] is a presentation of the blood spilt because of the genocide [of Canada’s Indigenous population]. [The colour red] also offers representation of Missing and Murdered Indigenous and spirited and diverse folk, as red is the colour that our ancestors can see the most clearly,” The Revolution of The Heart said in an interview with The Journal.

Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac In 2015, Erin Sutherland, PhD ’17, curated a performance art exhibition named Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac, led by a variety of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to intervene with Macdonald’s birthday celebrations and reflect on the lasting impact of Macdonald’s policies on the artist’s lives. These events took place at the site of the City Park statue. Sutherland created the exhibition to provide an artistic intervention and dialogue to the legacy of Sir. John A. Macdonald. The series was meant to be a critical intervention to Macdonald’s birthday celebrations and a way to invite other voices into the historical conversation.

READ MORE: ‘Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac’ returns to City Park

Macdonald’s colonialism and attitude towards Canada’s Indigenous population led to a horrible residential school system that took so many Indigenous children’s lives and childhood, the discriminatory and exclusionary Indian Act of 1876 that’s still in effect today, and more.

For some, the conversation surrounding the statue may seem like distant discourse, but as seen through Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac, for many, the statue symbolizes system erasure and a practice of settler colonial commemoration.

The Public House controversy

In 2018, more Kingstonian’s voices were heard—this time focusing on the social scene. The now-closed pub The Public House was formally named Sir John’s Public House. The pub opened in 2011 and sadly closed its doors in 2021. The restaurant had great reviews and a cozy atmosphere—attracting many visitors with its traditional Scottish cuisine.

In 2017, a protest outside the pub saw over a dozen people advocating for the removal of the pub’s name, as it commemorated a man who played a massive role in Canadian colonialism andthe installation of residential schools.

“The building served as Sir John A. Macdonald’s law office from 1849 to 1860. I changed the name […] in 2018 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) report recognizing the hurtful policies of colonial Canadian administrations towards Canada’s Indigenous peoples,” former pub owner Paul Fortier wrote in a statement to The Journal. Fortier now owns the restaurant and event venue, Renaissance, and University Tavern, that resides on the lower level of the building.

The TRC report Fortier mentions was created by the TRC, commissioned as a result of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2008. The goal was to lay the foundation for lasting reconciliation, highlight what needs to be changed or improved, and uncover the truth about Canada’s residential school system. As a part of this process, the Canadian Government provided the TRC with over five million records. In December 2015, the investigations ended and the TRC released a six-volume final report with 94 different calls to action for the Government of Canada.

These calls to action included multi-year funding for reconciliation, reinforce language rights, funding for Indigenous youth organizations, museum funding to undertake collaborations with Indigenous peoples, and all chief coroners and statistic agencies to provide their records on Indigenous deaths to the TRC.

The removal of the statue

In 2021, The Revolution of the Heart camped outside the site of the statue, covering it with a symbolic red tarp and lighting sacred fires, a central part of Indigenous culture, used for ceremonies, teachings, healing, and communications with ancestors. The activist group arrived on June 10 and said they’ll camp out until the statue is removed. The group remained until the statue removal on June 18.

“We believe that Macdonald was the architect of the Indian Act, as well as the implementation of residential schools and the erasure of Indigenous peoples. We believe Sir John A. Macdonald was responsible for the implementation and the policies of discrimination, relocation, and displacement of Indigenous peoples,” The Revolution of the Heart said.

“A lot of folks mention that removing these symbols doesn’t create substantive change, but we were able to use the colonial system against a colonizers system,” they added.

The Revolution of the Heart was only able to create a movement that demanded change through a nonviolent protest. The group made their presence and voices heard in a fashion that couldn’t be ignored and through their peaceful protest, they brought about the change that they sought. “We used their system against them. We went and did all the steps required by colonial procedures and got the statue taken down.”

“Substantive change only occurs when people are aware and take accountability for action. Canada is starting to slowly change. They have made a step towards reconciliation,” The Revolution of the Heart said.

Due to the thoughtful and emotional protesting demonstrated by The Revolution of The Heart, Kingston’s City Council, including current Mayor Bryan Paterson, met on the evening of June 16, 2021 to discuss the fate of the statue.

The deliberations over whether to keep the statue in City Park lasted for over five hours and featured many Indigenous speakers including Natasha Stirrett, a current assistant professor at the Institute for Criminology and Criminal Justice who specializes in Indigenous and state relations, and Dionne Nolan, an Indigenous patient navigator who works with Indigenous peoples with cancer in Southeast Ontario. Alongside Stirrett and Nolan were seven other speakers. Eventually the council voted 12-1, almost unanimously, for the removal of Macdonald’s statue in City Park. It continues to reside in storage.

As a result of the City Council meeting, the statue was removed in the morning of June 18—around a week after the beginning of The Revolution of the Heart’s protests where they achieved the goal they had worked towards. The goal being the removal of the statue to create space for alternate historical voices and perspectives. There were about 100 people at City Park the day the statue was removed.

Opposition of the statue’s removal

While many celebrated the statue’s removal, two veterans—adorned with Canadian flags—briefly attempted to protest the removal of the statue. They felt the City’s decision to remove the statue was an eradication of Kingston’s history.

The two veterans weren’t the only ones who protested the removal of the statue. A petition calling for the protection of John A. Macdonald’s statue floated around at the same time as The Revolution of the Heart’s did, but received only 29 votes to Revolution of the Heart’s 1,675.

At the June 16, 2021, City Council meeting, Meadowbrook-Strathcona District Councilor Jeff McLaren cast the one vote of the removal of the statue, voting against 12 others on the council. McLaren has sat on Kingston City Council for over eight years.

McLaren argues you can’t remove history. He believes that a fall of the dominant hegemony will lead to atrocities, war, and even genocide.

“Some of the worst atrocities in history are created because of resentment. If you’re going to take away from the majority of the population something that’s important to them, you’re going to create resentment. I submit to you for your consideration that having the most populous group in the country feel more resentful to an already marginalized group is never a good thing,” McLaren told The Journal.

Although McLaren voted against the dominant opinion of the City Council, he believes to succeed within politics, you need to conform or assimilate with the majority culture.

“There are rules and ways of doing things that are dominant. The closer that a particular group’s interactions, thoughts, and actions are to the dominant group or ideology, the more successful they will be in our society,” McLaren said. “To succeed, to conform, to assimilate.”

“From a political perspective if we want to go towards a better future, I submit to you for your consideration that building resentment in the majority population against a minority is never in the history of the whole world a good thing. That’s something we need to avoid.”

The opposing view to McLaren’s suggests tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples have existed since the time of Sir John A. Macdonald. Works like The Revolution of the Heart view the statue’s removal as a step toward healing and reconciliation.

Post-removal celebration

For many, the former site of the statue has now become a place of positivity, growth, and change.

For a few days after the removal of the statue, The Revolution of The Heart stayed to tend to the sacred fire and encourage others to come and share in the change that was happening around them. As well, on June 19, they hosted a celebratory cookout with drumming and dancing. On June 20, there was a letting go ceremony and the closing of the sacred fire, symbolizing a special end to the inspiring last couple of days.

The Revolution of The Heart have hosted other community events at the site where the statue was, including an anniversary celebration in June 2022 that lasted a day with a sunrise ceremony, a sacred fire, a drum circle, beading, and more.

Last October, the original group that performed in Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac in 2015, including curator Sutherland, returned to the site of Macdonald’s statue to celebrate and commemorate its removal. For the week of Oct 21-25, every night, there was poetry, performance art, and even joyous karaoke that ensued where the statue no longer was. Every event honoured and celebrated Indigeneity, inserting an Indigenous presence as a form of counter monument to the statue.

“I wanted to explore what the site meant to people now that the statue was gone. I’m interested in thinking through colonial monuments and the way they take up space, often erasing alternative narratives. I wanted to think about whether or not there was more space for alternative narratives now that the statue is gone,” Sutherland said in an interview with The Journal.

“I think this is a time to come together and reflect on the statue being gone. The statue site has turned into a gathering site.”

Sutherland hopes those who came to the post-statue-removal events had a good time and thought about John A. Macdonald’s legacy in the contemporary present.

She wonders what the societal relationship to monuments and colonial icons currently is. She questions why we need monuments in the first place. She debates whether we should build counter or new monuments for those whose stories haven’t been told yet, or if we should take down old monuments altogether.

Tags

City Park, Colonialism, John A. MacDonald

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