The Wilfrid Laurier Memorial (french: Monument à Sir Wilfrid Laurier) is a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

to the seventh

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

. It is located in

Dorchester Square , photo = Square Dorchester 01.jpg , photo_width = , photo_caption = , map = Canada Montreal , map_width = , type = Town square , location = Downtown Montreal, Ville-Marie Montreal, Quebec, Canada , nearest_city = , coords = , coo ...

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal ( French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the borough of Vil ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada.

Overview

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier Memorial was constructed in 1953 by

Joseph-Émile Brunet Joseph-Émile Brunet (1893–1977) was a Canadian sculptor based in Quebec. His output includes more than 200 monuments in bronze. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada. He was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1893. He ...

on the southern side of

, facing towards the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

was a proponent of an early free-trade agreement with the United States and wanted to develop a more continental economic orientation. Also, as Canada's first

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, he faces off against the tribute to Sir John A. Macdonald, across the street in what is now . Macdonald is enshrined in a stone baldachin emblazoned with copper reliefs of the various agricultural and industrial trades. Laurier stands with the shelter of the massive trees which characterize the square, a granite relief of the provinces created and united under his administrations opposite a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

of man and woman sharing the harvest. Laurier also stands with his back facing the back of the Boer War Memorial — It was Britain's wish, but Laurier was not prepared to freely commit Canadian troops to Pretoria. The Boer War placed great strains on Laurier's cabinet, because a decision to send troops as required, could also have been construed as Canada's perpetual support to all England's wars. Laurier did not wish to alienate Canadian Imperialists and French Canadians. "Whilst I cannot admit that Canada should take part in all the wars of Great Britain, neither am I prepared to say that she should not take part in any war at all... I claim for Canada this, that in the future, she shall be at liberty to act or not act, to interfere or not interfere, to do just as she pleases." In the end, public demand won through and Canada sent some 7,300 Canadians to South Africa, of which about one-third were official contingents. The Laurier Memorial Committee was founded in 1948 under the auspices of the Canadian Democratic Institute and the Canadian Unity Alliance in order to erect a memorial to Sir Wilfrid Laurier. His inauguration took place on October 12, 1953. The activities of the Monument Committee ended at the end of 1954.

References

External links

* {{Public art in Montreal 1953 in Canada 1953 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Montreal Outdoor sculptures in Montreal Sculptures of men in Quebec Statues in Quebec Wilfrid Laurier Statues of prime ministers Cultural depictions of Canadian men Cultural depictions of politicians Dorchester Square Bronze sculptures in Quebec Granite sculptures in Canada