John A. Macdonald was no cartoon villain. He may have been our most human prime minister |
Statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Queen's Park, Toronto, Aug. 29, 1963.Boris Spremo/The Globe and Mail
J.D.M. Stewart is the author of The Prime Ministers: Canada’s Leaders and the Nation They Shaped.
It may come as a surprise to Canadians to discover that Sunday is Sir John A. Macdonald Day. The first surprise might be that such a day exists at all, while the second may be that it has not yet been repealed, given various egregious “cancellations” of the Dominion’s first prime minister over the past decade. The statue removals, changed street names and cowardly expunction of his name from schools and awards reflected a moment in Canadian history that one hopes is not revisited.
Jan. 11 is Sir John A.’s birthday. A 2002 Act of........