Considering the future of a controversial project in Wilmot Township

The discussion around a controversial project meant to honour Canadian politicians is being rekindled.

A public meeting was held Tuesday night to discuss the fate of the “Prime Minister’s Path” in Wilmot Township. The project started in 2013 when a group of citizens raised money to acknowledge Canada’s political past. Their vision included 22 bronze statues depicting Canada’s prime ministers. Originally, the Prime Ministers Path was meant to honour 150 years of Confederation, but instead, it has been mired in controversy.

History of the path

In 2013, Kitchener’s Victoria Park was suggested as the project’s original home, but city council rejected the idea after receiving strong opposition from the community.

In 2015, Wilfrid Laurier University considered hosting the project at their Waterloo Campus. Within a few months, the school reversed its decision and removed a statue of Sir John A. MacDonald after a petition highlighted his role in the residential school system.

In 2016, the Prime Ministers Path found a home in Wilmot Township after council unanimously approved the installation of 22 statues in front of Castle Kilbride in Baden. That year, the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald was installed.

Wilmot Council made the decision to host the project without public consultation. The mayor at the time, Les Armstrong, said the public wasn’t asked because the township wouldn’t be paying for anything.

Over the next few years statues of Sir Robert Borden, William L. Mackenzie King, Lester B. Pearson and Kim Campbell were installed.

In the spring of 2020, the Sir John A. MacDonald statue was splashed with red paint. In July of that year, council voted to begin a public engagement process about the project. By fall, council had voted to remove the statue and put it in storage. Four other statues were supposed to be installed that year, but the work was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic and then postponed again as a result of the review.

In 2021, a report from First Peoples Group recommended immediately removing the existing Prime Ministers Path statues and discontinuing any future expansion or investments.

The finished statues remain in storage to this day.

Finding a path forward

Wilmot Township has hired a consulting firm, LURA Consulting, to reopen the conversation surrounding the project. The first public meeting was held on Tuesday night.

“It’s become this process where people don’t see eye-to-eye,” LURA Consulting Co-lead Denise Soueidan-O’Leary said.

Some people attending the meeting were concerned about how the decisions regarding the project were communicated.

“I was quite disappointed to learn that the statues disappeared almost overnight,” resident Don Kasta said.

“The decision-making process is the fundamental issue, I think,” fellow resident Barry Wolfe said.

Representatives for LURA Consulting said working with the community is a priority.

“We want to hear what people are feeling, what they have to say, and we’ll start to do our analysis and figure out what possibilities there are for solutions,” LURA Consulting Co-lead Benny Skinner said.

Some residents at Tuesday’s meeting said they would like to see the statues return, but with more focus on education and insight.

“When the statues come back, and I hope they do, that there will be time and effort put into the interpretation,” Kasta said.

At this point, there is no set timeline for when a recommendation could be made to council.

In the meantime, there will be monthly public meetings and another public engagement event on March 5th.