Kingston group wants Sir John A Macdonald statue restored at City Park

A poll suggests more than seven out of 10 are in favour of the statue of Canada's first prime minister back.

There is a movement to have the statue of Sir John A Macdonald restored in Kingston.

Members of Kingston Friends of the Canadian Institute for Historical Education were at a meeting of the Kingston Heritage Properties Committee last Wednesday.

The group is trying to convince the City to put the statue of the late Prime Minister back where it belongs at City Park.

Retired lawyer and group member John Ryder-Burbich says there was a poll they commissioned that supports their goal.

In 2021, City Council at the time voted to take down the statue of Macdonald which stood at the southeast corner of West St and King St. This was in response to the discovery of mass graves at a former residential school in British Columbia.

Opponents of the statue say Macdonald was responsible for the deaths of the children in the residential school system in Canada.

But Ryder-Burbich believes the removal of the statue was done as a result of a knee-jerk reaction.

As part of their effort, Kingston Friends of the Canadian Institute for Historical Education reached out to Indigenous groups in Kingston to talk about the statue. Ryder-Burbich says the two parties had discussions and feels they understand what his group is trying to do but wouldn't elaborate.

He says Macdonald was a key figure in the shaping of Canada and that should not be pushed aside.

Ryder-Burbich says it is time that the City restore the statue of Macdonald and wants to have it done by the end of the year.

The statue of Sir John A Macdonald was first erected in 1895 and remained in place until 2021 when it was taken down and put into storage.

Story by Ken Hashizume