Cities offer to acquire a statue of Samuel de Champlain located in Ontario
Some Quebec municipalities and organizations are proposing to recover a controversial statue of Samuel de Champlain from a town in Ontario, in Simcoe County.
This bronze monument, almost four meters high, representing the 17th century explorere century and founder of Quebec City, was removed from a park in Orillia, Ontario, and placed in storage in 2017 following a debate over its colonial symbolism.
Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac says a wave of proposals has poured in after the city recently raised the possibility of melting the statue.
“They say it’s racist, that it’s not part of our history, that it’s an insult to indigenous people,” Mr. McIsaac said in an interview about the controversy. The plaque affixed to the original statue, installed in 1925, indicated that it celebrated the arrival of white people in Ontario. Obviously this is no longer acceptable in 2026.”
Samuel de Champlain, nicknamed the “father of New France,” is recognized for having contributed to the establishment of French colonies in the St. Lawrence Valley.
The Samuel de Champlain statue was part of a larger statuary group located in one of Orillia’s most important public parks. Inaugurated in 1925, this installation represented Mr. Champlain atop a stone slab. Aboriginal people were represented at the feet of a Jesuit priest and a trapper, placed below the French explorer.
The removal of the statue for restoration in 2017 sparked debate over its reinstallation.
A working group, made up of representatives from Parks Canada, the City and the Chippewas of Rama and Hurons-Wendat First Nations, recommended in 2019 the reinstallation of only the statue of Samuel de Champlain, pending further consultations.
Earlier this year, the First Peoples Group, an Indigenous-led consulting firm, proposed a redesign of the facility to highlight the contributions of the Chippewas of Rama, Huron-Wendat and Anishinaabeg, with the addition of a new plaque.
However, in January, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation recommended abandoning the project, saying reopening the debate would amount to “de-reconciliation.” Two municipal councilors subsequently left the working group, fearing that the project did not reflect true reconciliation.
The statue briefly returned to its original location in March, before being removed in June and put into storage. After this second withdrawal, the city considered melting it down.
Mr. McIsaac specifies that he has received more than ten expressions of interest, mainly from Quebec municipalities and Franco-Ontarian communities.
Caroline Dionne, spokesperson for Champlain in Quebec, a city named in honor of the Frenchman, said that the city is recognized for its cultural heritage and wishes to pay tribute to a significant figure in its history.
“It seems entirely logical to us that this work of art would be exhibited near the St. Lawrence River, in a location closely linked to its stay in our region,” she said in an email.
Mme Dionne clarified that the municipality is only interested in the statue of Samuel de Champlain and not in the monument as a whole. “In our opinion, this distinction is important, because the debates observed elsewhere relate more to the general composition of the monument than to the historical figure of Samuel de Champlain himself,” she commented.
Lévis, Quebec, is also among the municipalities wishing to host the statue.
On June 24, Mr. McIsaac sent Orillia city council a document detailing 13 expressions of interest or formal offers regarding the Champlain statue.
He indicated that he had received around thirty requests for information in total, but believes that the statue should remain property of the city, with a new commemorative plaque, since it aimed to “unite French Canada and English Canada”. He added that most residents want it restored.
In an email addressed to Mr. McIsaac, Lévis Mayor Daniel Saindon promised to move the statue of Samuel de Champlain to one of the city’s “most prestigious parks,” while providing appropriate historical context in order to “preserve its significance and take into account the sensitivities that have emerged in recent years.”
However, McIsaac said the statue is unlikely to leave its current storage location anytime soon as city council continues to debate its future.
