Wilmot council votes to return all statues to Prime Ministers Path
Posted Jul 29, 2025 07:00:49 AM.
Last Updated Jul 30, 2025 10:37:40 AM.
After years of controversy and long months of community engagement, Wilmot councillors have finally decided on the future of the Prime Ministers’ Path.
During their meeting on Monday night, Wilmot council voted unanimously to reinstall all nine statues of the Prime Ministers’ Path at the current site, including the four that were never revealed. The Sir John A. MacDonald statue will be put in a different area of the park, but can still be viewed by residents if they choose to.
The statues were removed because of the backlash to their link to colonialism and the residential school system. The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was removed in 2020 after being targeted by red paint, with the rest of the statues being removed in 2021 and the project discontinued.
“This was not a decision made lightly,” said Mayor Natasha Salonen in a press release. “The future of the Prime Ministers Path has been a subject of deep reflection in our community. While perspectives differ, Council has listened carefully. The path forward represents a balanced response to the feedback we heard—rooted in education, inclusion, and fiscal responsibility.”
As part of the decision to bring back the statues, the township will no longer use taxpayer dollars to pay for the project, and all future funding will be provided by donations, partnerships and grants. The township has spent $221,415 on the project since 2020. This includes legal advice, the first consultation with the First People’s Group, removal and storage of the statues and the current engagement. A report to council notes that the cost of the storage of the statues is $660 a month.
Ward 2 Councillor Kris Wilkinson brought forward the motion during the meeting, saying that the decision was not just about reinstalling statues, but restarting a conversation.
“This motion doesn’t shy away from the hard truths; it explicitly directs that the educational component accompanying these statues include the good, the bad and the ugly,” said Wilkinson. “It ensures that this project won’t become an ideological platform; it will remain in historical literacy and civic understanding.”
Ward 4 Councillor Lillianne Dunstall also spoke in favour of bringing back the statues, saying in part that “removing statues does not remove injustices.”
“History does not repeat itself by accident; it repeats because we forget, we rewrite or we just don’t want to face the fact that history is human and it is shaped by the fear and the flawed decisions,” said Dunstall.
The report to council from a working group from May gave recommendations in six key areas: funding, location, education, inclusion, governance and structure and truth and reconciliation. The working group spoke with hundreds of residents in Wilmot between October 2024 and April 2025.
Thirteen delegates spoke during Monday’s meeting, including former Wilmot mayor Wayne Roth. He said he was in favour of the path coming back, saying it could be a “strong, live and meaningful educational process for all future generations.”
“Yes, it has to be done correctly and I am positive and feel very strongly that Wilmot Township can do it,” said Roth.
A new name for the path will also be considered and a volunteer-led committee will be created to oversee the project.
Council has asked township staff to come back with a report at a future date on how much it would cost to reinstall the statues.
The only outstanding item is who would pay for the reinstallation. Council Wilkinson confirmed to 570 News that decision is deferred, pending the cost.
Speaking on the Mike Farwell Show on Wednesday, Salonen said council will decide if they “cross that bridge” if they can not get private funding or grants.
Listen to her answer here:
