The Ontario government sparked controversy Monday after it offered to give a new home to the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald which was removed from Victoria’s city hall over the weekend.

City council in the capital of B.C., voted last week to take down the statue of Canada’s first prime minister as part of the reconciliation process with the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations.

Premier Doug Ford offered to take it from Victoria, even though there is already a Macdonald statue at Queen’s Park.

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“Sir John A. Macdonald played a central role in our national story,” Ford tweeted Monday. “As one of the Fathers of Confederation, he founded our nation. That’s why our government wrote to the Mayor of Victoria to say we’d be happy to give Sir John A. a new home here in Ontario.

Culture, Tourism and Sport Minister Sylvia Jones defended Ford’s request.

“Sir John A. Macdonald plays a central role in our national story. He did more to found our nation than any other Father of Confederation. In fact, we would not be debating here today without Sir John A.,” she told the Legislature.

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“There’s no denying that Sir John A.’s role in our history is a cause for much discussion, because history is complicated. People are complicated, but there is no doubt that 125 years ago — after his death, our first prime minister stands as an important Canadian within the creation of our country. We encourage Ontarians to learn more about our first prime minister by visiting statues like the ones at historic sites throughout Ontario, including at the front of Queen’s Park.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Ford’s push for the Macdonald statue is an unnecessarily provocative move from a new government that scrapped a standalone ministry for Indigenous peoples after taking office six weeks ago and cancelled curriculum writing sessions on Indigenous culture and history in the education ministry.

“They’re thinking more about sowing the seeds of division and dragging our province backwards than doing what’s right to make sure that we deal with the outstanding history that we have around residential schools and around our First Nations communities,” Horwath told reporters.

“It’s a sad commentary around what our government’s priorities are to fuel divisiveness, to use dog whistle politics to do that instead of to actually begin the process of making commitments around reconciliation here.”

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Horwath also noted there is already a statue of Macdonald on the grounds of the Legislature.

“I don’t know why we would need another one.”

Minutes from the Victoria council meeting say the statue will be stored in a facility until the city determines what to do with it, adding it wasn’t trying to “erase history.”

Macdonald played a significant role in the creation of the residential school system that displaced thousands of Indigenous youth, and served as the MP for Victoria from 1878 to 1882.

With files from The Canadian Press

Patrick Ho is a rewrite editor working on the Star’s digital desk in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @patrick_ho_007

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