of the population of Kingston, Ontario gathered in a municipal park to witness the unveiling of a statue to their native son, the great Sir John A. Macdonald, the very Father of Confederation, and our nation’s first and founding Prime Minister. A half-day civic holiday had been declared and farmers, industrial workers, and people from all other walks of life gathered to honour the greatest Canadian Prime Minister (along with Laurier) of them all. For more than 100 years after the statue unveiling, the site was one of national and local celebration of good citizenship and Canada itself. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Paul Martin and John Turner – another was British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in 1927 – have visited the statue over the decades to pay tribute to Sir John A. Macdonald of Kingston. In 2021, City Councillors in Kingston had the statue torn down.

Source: CBC News October 23, 2022 21:59 UTC