Monument

The bronze statue depicts Sir John A. Macdonald with a cape and uniform in a classical pose (weight placed over right foot in contrapposto) holding a scroll. This bronze sculpture is placed upon four steps and a three-stone pedestal made of polished and non-polished red granite. The stones are built up, placed on top of each other and pointed with mortar. There is a bronze plaque on the middle stone of the pedestal. There are also four corner/edge stones on the bottom of the steps. The footing is made of limestone. The bronze statue was sculpted by George Wade, and cast by Singer & Sons Founders. Stone plinth made by R. Welch & Son.

John A Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1815. He died in 1891 in Ottawa, Canada. A week after Sir John A Macdonald's funeral, the City of Kingston's Board of Trade met to discuss the erection of a monument to the late Prime Minister of Canada. It was at this meeting that it was proposed that a statue should be erected near Murney Tower and that the area should be called Macdonald Park. The bronze statue sculpted by George Wade was unveiled in City Park at the corner of West and King streets on October 23, 1895. It was cast by Singer & Sons Founders and sits on a stone plinth made by R. Welch & Son. A descriptive plaque of his life was not installed until 1952; it was replaced by a bilingual version in 1977. The two Russian cannons flanking the statue were captured in the Crimean War (1853-1856). This military conflict was between Russia and an allied force made up of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia The cannons are from Great Britain's trophies of war collection; as Peace approached, the Allies destroyed Russian fortifications and gathered captured enemy guns such as cannons as spoils of war. The British Monarchy offered one each to cities who had contributed to the war effort. Each eligible city had to apply if they desired one. Over 300 cannons were distributed in this way across multiple British isles, dominions, and dependencies such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Gibraltar. Kingston received two cannons.