Wilmot Township to hold special meeting this month on future of Prime Ministers Path project
Project, which has faced controversy from the start, is only agenda item for May 12 meeting
A special meeting has been planned for later this month to discuss the future of the Prime Ministers Path project, as Wilmot Township councillors try to determine if the controversial project can move ahead.
Mayor Natasha Salonen says a working group set up by council has finalized recommendations — based on diverse opinions in the community — on how the township could proceed.
The project, which would have seen 22 bronze statues placed in the park beside Wilmot's township office, was put on hold in July 2021 after a council vote.
The statues of Sir Robert Borden, Kim Campbell, William Lyon Mackenzie King and Lester Pearson were removed from the park that month and placed in storage.
Another statue for the Unfortunate Four — Sir John Abbott, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, Sir John Thompson, and Sir Charles Tupper — was never installed and remains in storage. The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was removed in July 2020 from its place beside Castle Kilbride and placed in storage, where it also remains.
Salonen said the working group held a number of community meetings to get feedback on the project, then developed the report that will go before councillors on May 12.
She said the group came up with a plan that, "if the statues were to come back, conditions under how they can come back in a way that addresses the concerns throughout our community," Salonen said on The Morning Edition.
"That includes looking for a space where people in the community can choose if they want to engage with the statues or not as well as having an educational component."
Financial considerations
The mayor said one thing that came up in the recommendations is that there would need to be financial considerations.
"It's been clear from what I've been hearing and feeling amongst the community that there needs to be a real conversation with council on who's funding it and what are the real costs to be able to have an educational component," she said.
Wilmot Township faced a financial crunch in passing its 2025 budget. The initial report suggested a property tax increase of 50 per cent. There were a few reasons for the massive increase: A backlog of capital projects including a new fire station in New Hamburg, repairs to infrastructure like roads and the Wilmot Recreation Centre, and the fact that the township doesn't have much saved in reserves.
In February, council passed a budget that increased property taxes by 18.22 per cent.
Salonen said councillors will be formally presented with the recommendations at the May 12 meeting. The Prime Ministers Path project is the only agenda item for the meeting, which will also provide an opportunity for residents to engage with council on the topic.
She said Wilmont residents who are interested in delegating to council should register to do so.
"At this point I just look forward to council getting to hear these recommendations and continue to hear from the community and then really I'm looking forward to setting forward what the next steps are with this process," the mayor said.
'We want this township to heal'
The project has faced controversy from the start. The initial idea was that the privately funded project would see the creation of 22 bronze sculptures of past Canadian prime ministers to mark Canada's 150th birthday.
Proponents had also hoped the statues could be used as a teaching device for the public.
Ending the project was a recommendation from First Peoples Group, an Indigenous advisory group the township hired to hold public consultations on the project and prepare a report on the issue.
But that all happened with the previous council. In October 2022 an entirely new council was elected to serve the residents of Wilmot Township.
In January 2024 Coun. Kris Wilkinson brought forward a notice of motion to ask township staff to look at options for ways to "proceed with a permanent plan" for the project.
"Our citizens desire resolutions and want their opportunity to have their voices heard," he said at the time. "We want this township to heal and come to a resolution that's agreeable."
Following the May 12 meeting, the township will hold another community engagement meeting on May 28. Then on June 2, council's committee of the whole will meet to begin deliberations on the next steps forward.
LISTEN | Working group outlines recommendations for Prime Ministers Path:
Here's a timeline of the project:
- In March 2014, Kitchener city council rejected the proposal in an 8-1 vote, pointing to a survey that indicated residents opposed the idea.
- In June 2015, project organizers thought they had found a home for the sculptures at Wilfrid Laurier University, but shortly after the project was announced, a petition circulated to stop it. Opponents to the statues said that celebrating the country's past prime ministers would be culturally insensitive given the university is built on land that traditionally belongs to Indigenous people and that not enough consultation was done.
- In February 2016, the university's board of governors nixed the idea, a move criticized by Conrad Black who said the university "folded like a $3 suitcase" in the face of opposition to the project.
- In April 2016, Wilmot council voted unanimously to allow the project to be placed in parkland beside Castle Kilbride and the township's administrative offices. The first statue, that of Macdonald, was installed in June 2016.
- In July 2020, the Macdonald statue was removed from its place beside Castle Kilbride and placed in storage, where it remains.
- On July 5, 2021, Wilmot council voted unanimously to end the project and remove the four remaining statues. Those statues were removed by July 7, staff said.
- On Jan. 15, 2024, Wilmot council voted unanimously to ask staff to prepare a report that looks at a permanent plan for the project.
With files from Kate Bueckert