Protesters call to restore Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Hamilton
Years after protesters toppled the first national statue to Sir John A Macdonald, the father of Confederation , over 100 protestors gathered demanding that a new statue be erected to Canada's first PM
About 100 protesters gathered at Gore Park in Hamilton, Ont., on Victoria Day, calling for a statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, to be erected at the site where a monument to him was previously removed.
Daniel Tyrie, founder and chairman of the Dominion Society of Canada, who organized the demonstration, told Juno News that Macdonald’s statue should be re-erected at the original site. He also said the city, after failing to protect or reinstate the monument, is now considering removing the commemorative plaque that remains in place.
“We’ve been making this thing about it locally, but we wanted to take things to the next level and get some more eyeballs and attention on the situation,” he said on behalf of the Dominion Society. “More generally, we’re very tired of these trends of trying to rewrite Canadian history and kind of bring shame to some of our greatest actors, and I think we’ve seen that a lot over the last week.”
The Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Hamilton’s Gore Park was the first public monument to Canada’s first prime minister. Proposed after his death in 1891, it was unveiled in November 1893 to a crowd of about 20,000 people.
The City of Hamilton began reviewing the statue in 2019 as part of its commitments to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In July 2021, council narrowly voted against removing the monument. The decision also included recommendations to review several historic sites as part of a $75,000 project, with some sites flagged for potential removal or alteration.
In 2021, activists toppled the statue by tying a rope around Macdonald’s neck and pulling it down while police were present and did not intervene.
In June 2023, the city installed replacement “educational” signage at the site rather than restoring the statue.
In 2024 and 2025, the site was included in an ongoing review that could see the remaining plaque removed, further reducing what remains of the original monument.
The Dominion Society of Canada protesters argue that, with the monument’s future unclear, “now is the perfect time for strong action” to pressure municipal governments to change course.
Tyrie told Juno News that with recent reports that a CBC Entertainment and APTN project used a political “prank” group and fake media companies to attack Macdonald’s legacy by luring conservative commentators, MPs, and RCMP veterans under the premise that they would be “reclaiming” Sir John A Macdonald’s legacy, made the protest all the more important.
“This new scandal around the CBC prank show, again making light of his legacy, trying to frame Sir John A. Macdonald, one of the greatest heroes of Canada, as someone who’s an evil individual…we’re tired of this kind of revisionist history,” he said. “We don’t care about whatever names they want to call him. The reality is Canada would not exist without the vision, hard work and action of John A Macdonald.”
He said Macdonald’s role in founding Canada, despite opposition from within what is now Canada and from U.S. interests, is something Canadians should be proud of.
When asked about the significance of Victoria Day, which marks the birthday of Queen Victoria, Tyrie said Gore Park was an appropriate location because a statue of Queen Victoria remains in the park.
“We actually did things at both ends of the park that day,” He said. “The two of them are the father and mother of the confederation.”
He said they faced mostly support, though they ran into a few critics, who were captured at the event.
“People try and reframe things towards imperialism and all these negative connotations, but we think it’s important that people understand and are proud of our history, and that includes institutions like the monarchy that led to the bedrock of Canadian civilization,” He said. “This protest was more about Sir John A. Macdonald than about Queen Victoria, but it was a perfect location for both.”