By Canadian Press

Charlottetown statue of Sir John A. MacDonald covered in red paint

Jun 19, 2020 | 12:19 PM

CHARLOTTETOWN — A statue of Sir John A. MacDonald in Prince Edward Island has become the latest in a series of defaced of sculptures and monuments depicting historical figures across Canada with ties to racist elements of the country’s past.

The statue of MacDonald in Charlottetown was doused with red paint overnight — an incident now being investigated by Charlottetown Police Services.

Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown denounced it as an act of vandalism while also acknowledging an ongoing debate brewing within the city about whether the statue should be removed.

MacDonald’s role in the creation of residential schools, where thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly placed, abused and even died — has sparked renewed calls for the sculpture in the P.E.I. capital to be removed.

Statues and monuments of historical figures across the world are being vandalized and torn down in the wake of protests against anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.

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Earlier this week in Vancouver, a statue of John Deighton, known as “Gassy Jack,” whose marriage to a 12-year-old Squamish girl has led to calls for its removal, was also defaced with red paint.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press