Yes. First prime minister’s cruelty overrides any honours
Statues often reverentially commemorate historical figures that are meant to inspire future generations. They can also tell a story about where we came from and where we want to be.
As we enter an era of truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, it’s time to reconsider what to do with such symbols from the past. We offer a few arguments in support of the removal of a statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, from Victoria’s city hall.
Firstly, nothing lasts forever — and this is not a historically significant statue. It only dates back to 1982, when it was gifted by the Sir John A. Macdonald Historical Society. Should gifts be displayed forever? Sculptor John Dann wants his creation back in front of city hall and argues that it’s “a work of art, representing all humanity.” We feel that humanity can be much better represented.
Second, Macdonald’s legacy is more negative than positive when we look at his treatment of Indigenous peoples and Asians. Historian Tim Stanley said, “… Macdonald’s were among the most extreme views of his era. He was the only politician in the parliamentary debates to refer to Canada as ‘Aryan’ and to justify legalized racism on the basis not of alleged cultural practices, but on the grounds that ‘Chinese’ and ‘Aryans’ were separate species.” Macdonald’s penchant for violence and degradation toward Indigenous people has now eclipsed his legacy as a railroad builder — like it or not. Prior to Macdonald, there was a better understanding between European settlers and Indigenous peoples. The “Two Row Wampum Treaty” is a peace and friendship treaty that dates back to 1613. It signals hope for peaceful coexistence and speaks of a river journey where settlers and Indigenous peoples travel side by side, accepting each other’s history and laws.
Macdonald basically tore apart the “Two Row Wampum,” dismissed all respect for the original peoples of the land and laid aside previous understandings about peaceful coexistence.
To rid the Prairies of Indigenous peoples, Macdonald engaged in crimes against humanity, if not outright genocide. In his seminal book, Clearing the Plains, James Daschuk speaks in clear, blunt terms of how Macdonald’s government deployed starvation to force Indigenous peoples onto reserves, then withheld rations in order to bring about thousands of deaths through starvation and disease (such as tuberculosis). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission also highlighted these tactics in its Final Report, all of this designed to eliminate Indigenous peoples as nations and political actors on their own lands.
Macdonald was not shy about his murderous goals, stressing in 1885 that food would be refused “until the Indians were on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense.” Daschuk later concluded that such policies were a form of “ethnic cleansing and genocide.” Macdonald’s enmity towards Indigenous people went even further. He forcibly suppressed the so-called Northwest Rebellion and advocated for the elimination of Indigenous languages and spirituality, through the residential school system.
Third, the city of Victoria, voting seven to one, undertook to remove Macdonald’s statue as part of a larger process of reconciliation with the Lekwungen People, the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. If this sign of respect and forward movement helps to bring about better relations, then why is it a problem?
Despite any good that may be attributed to Macdonald, his record of cruelty, barbarism and even genocide should preclude him from receiving any honours, statues included. We cannot change Canada’s past but we can, by working together, change our future for the better.