A Queen's group looks to put pressure on City to restore Sir John A Macdonald statue

A petition is being circulated calling on the City of Kingston to put the statue back at City Park.

Another group in Kingston wants to have the statue of Sir John A Macdonald back at City Park.

A petition is being circulated by the Queen's University Conservative Club. 

Club President and graduating student Rodrigo Garfinkle says there needs to be a serious discussion on the accomplishments and mistakes made by Canada's first Prime Minister.

He says you can't do that by taking down a statue.

As of Wednesday, the petition garnered 620 signatures. A recent poll showed that 7 out 10 Canadians want to see the statue back in its rightful place.

Garfinkle says Macdonald has done so much in helping to shape Canada.

Members of the Kingston Friends of the Canadian Institute for Historical Education were at the City's Heritage Properties Committee last month asking for the restoration of the statue.

Garfinkle posted a video on the club's Facebook page making that case. He was joined in the video by fellow Queen's students, the presidents of the federal and provincial Conservative riding associations, and researcher and historian Duncan McDowall. 

City Council at the time voted to take down the statue in 2021 in response to the discovery of mass graves at a former residential school in British Columbia.

Garfinkle believes there was not a lot of thought behind that decision.

Garfinkle hopes once the petition is present to City Council, it will show them there's an overwhelming majority that wants the statue of Sir John A Macdonald back at City Park.

Story by Ken Hashizume