Terry Fox’s image is immortalized in bronze across the gates of Parliament Hill, forever running towards the west. The plaque beneath his statue, located at the corner of Wellington and Metcalfe streets, reads, “the greatness of the human spirit.”
Terry Fox
Fox was only 18 when he was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer, which forced doctors to amputate his right leg. While he was recovering in the hospital, Fox decided to raise money for cancer research after witnessing the suffering of other cancer patients.
Fox named his run across the country “the Marathon of Hope,” which he began on April 12, 1980, in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Using a prosthetic leg, Fox reached Ottawa on Canada Day. Two months later, cancer was found in Fox’s lungs and forced him to end his marathon outside of Thunder Bay, Ont. After a total of 5,373 kilometres, Fox died at the age of 22 on June 28, 1981.
The former Ottawa-Carleton municipality commissioned artist John Hooper to commemorate the extraordinary young man. The statue was unveiled on Sept. 17, 1983 and was originally located across from the Rideau Centre. On July 1, 1998, the statue was moved to its present day location in the courtyard in front of the Nation Capital Commission’s information centre.
It’s placed close to the Wellington Street sidewalk, where many tourists stop to admire the bronze statue and read the large plaque on its right. Sitting on the benches, which lines the east side of the courtyard, gives the illusion that Fox is running down the street past Parliament Hill.
Although he never reached his goal, his dream still inspires communities not only across Canada, but also around the world, raising millions of dollars for cancer research.