There is a new point of friction for an already contentious project in Wilmot Township. The Prime Ministers Path art installation has been at the centre of public debate for more than a decade, but now, after a series of public consultation sessions, surveys and polls, the statues could be back up again within the next few weeks. In April, CreateScape Waterloo Region was selected as the arm’s length organization that would be responsible for reinstalling the statues. But there are, once again, some potential potholes for the Prime Ministers Path. Former advisor raises concerns During the course of the public feedback sessions, it became clear that many members of the community wanted an educational component included in the project if it were to return. That desire for additional resources, context and critical reflections was included in a report containing six recommendations regarding the future of the Prime Ministers Path. One of the consultants who had been hired to help oversee the public feedback sessions worried the committee was not following that recommendation. Benny Skinner worked as an advisor for the working group responsible for getting the statues back up. However, Skinner resigned from that role over to issues with the project’s direction. “I felt as though the mandate of the committee, first and foremost, was not to follow the spirit of the recommendations, but to put the statues back up as fast as possible,” Skinner said. “That’s a personal feeling. I own that.” Skinner felt the educational aspects the community had asked for were not being represented. “I also tried to push for the education resources to be ready, not necessarily finalized, but ready for review before actually putting the statues up.” However the chair of Createscape Waterloo Region said the educational components will be added later. “This is not a one-month project,” Don Bourgeois, chair of Createscape Waterloo Region, said. “This project, if it’s successful, will continue for many, many years and it will continue well past me and it will continue.” Cost of reinstallation Another recommendation in the public feedback report was that Wilmot Township should not spend any more public money on the project. In the spring, the township offered Createscape up to $78,000 for the reinstallation. “I think what is fair in the circumstances is to pay up to $78,000 for the reinstallation of the previous statues that Createscape had paid for, and the installation of the next statue that is to be unveiled,” Bourgeois said. He added any future statues, installations and educational material will be funded by Createscape Waterloo Region. Wilmot Township previously spent $102,367 on the community engagement campaign prior to Createscape’s involvement. That was more than the $60,000 originally budgeted to collect feedback. The cost of the entire project still weighs on Skinner’s mind. “When I got to meet the Wilmot Township residents, residents I really like, I fell in love with them,” Skinner recalled. “I was like, ‘Please don’t waste these people’s money.’ And I would say that at the current time, how they respond to what’s bubbling up in the community is going to tell us whether or not that was a waste of money.” What is the Prime Ministers Path? The Prime Ministers Path was meant to honour Canada’s political history. The goal was to create 22 bronze statues depicting former Prime Ministers to celebrate the 150th anniversary of confederation. A group of private citizens started raising money for the project in 2013. However, once the first few statues were installed, there was public backlash. The City of Kitchener rejected a plan to put the statues in Victoria Park. Wilfrid Laurier University once offered to host the statues, but later backtracked after a petition started circulating about Sir John A. Macdonald’s role in the residential school system. In 2016, the Prime Ministers Path was moved to Castle Kilbride in Baden. Statues of Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Robert Borden, William L. Mackenzie, Lester B. Pearson and Kim Campbell were installed over several years. However, the statues, particularly, Sir John A. Macdonald, were repeatedly vandalized. That statue was removed in 2020, and the remaining statues were put into storage the next year. The project was revisited in 2024 when a newly-elected council launched the public consultation campaign.
