TORONTO — Hoarding that has covered a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on the grounds of the Ontario legislature for the past five years is set to soon be removed.

The statue of Canada’s first prime minister has been boxed up since 2020, when it was vandalized.

The monument was one of many to be targeted across the country amid anti-racism protests and as Canadians grappled with the history of residential schools.

Macdonald is considered an architect of the country’s notorious residential school system that took Indigenous children from their families in an effort to assimilate them.

Progressive Conservative and Liberal members of a non-partisan board of the legislative assembly agreed earlier this month on a motion to remove the hoarding after the statue is cleaned.

Speaker Donna Skelly says the statue should be ready this summer and she welcomes both supporters and protesters to come to Queen’s Park.

Government House Leader Steve Clark says a legislative committee has been tasked with looking at how to respect Indigenous representation at Queen’s Park amid a project to rehabilitate the building.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025.

Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press