Standing proudly on the southeast corner of Parliament Hill, Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, glances pensively out at the nation’s capital, glasses in one hand, scattered papers in the other.
The Father of Confederation was immortalized forever in 1895 by the Quebec sculptor Louis-Phillipe Hebert. Hebert’s bronze statue beat out 44 other submissions from artists across Canada, the United States and Europe when cabinet members and public works officials chose it a few years after Macdonald’s death.
During his years in office, Macdonald helped shape Canada’s history and national identity. Many historians argue that it’s because of Macdonald’s political savvy that Canada now stretches all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
During his years as prime minister, Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island all joined Confederation, and the last spike along the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven into the ground.
Although he encountered his fair share of political scandal while in office, Macdonald was a beloved prime minister and political figure until his death in 1891.
His face now adorns the Canadian 10-dollar bill and in 2004 he was named the eighth greatest Canadian in a CBC poll.