Wellington's time is up

The Duke can't compare to Canada's first prime minister -- let's rename the street in front of Parliament after John A. Macdonald

The Citizen's lead editorial of Feb. 16 ("Nation builders") makes a good point: "Canadians can't be interested in their history if they aren't told about it. And one of the ways we get Canadians' attention is by recognizing historic sites (by) erecting monuments and other markers."

Here is an idea for a marker: Let's rename the boulevard in front of the Parliament Buildings in honour of our first prime minister: Sir John A. Macdonald.

Of course, fans of the Duke of Wellington, for which the street that faces Parliament is named, may take exception. But who is more relevant to Canada: our greatest prime minister, or the military leader who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo? (So there is no offence to the Duke and his accomplishments, which included a stint as British prime minister, we could stick with Wellington for the street between Island Park Drive and Booth Street where the road naturally breaks).

Compared with his American counterpart, George Washington, Macdonald gets short shrift in Ottawa. Ever notice the monument in Washington, D.C. or the name of the capital itself?

There is a modest statue of Macdonald on Parliament Hill; plus he gets half-billing along with Sir George-Étienne Cartier on Ottawa's international airport -- but most of us simply call it the Ottawa airport. As to the Macdonald-Cartier freeway, most of us call it simply the 401. And how many among us can say for certain which bridge is named for Macdonald and Cartier? Casting Macdonald and Cartier as equal partners is peculiar anyway, given that Cartier was popularly elected only once as a federal MP from Quebec and died in 1873, while Macdonald ruled Canada for 18 years.

Macdonald's Ottawa home, and place of his death, overlooking the Ottawa River on Sussex Drive, known as Earnscliffe, is a national heritage site. But it is closed to the public, serving instead as the home of the British high commissioner. But don't blame the Brits for denying us entry: they have lovingly restored, maintained, and celebrated Sir John at Earnscliffe after the Canadian government neglected to act when the property became available for sale in 1930.

The Elgin Street pub, Sir John A., is another quaint tribute to our first prime minister, but it hardly ranks as a site of historic significance.

Despite the protests that would be waged by the planners at city hall over the name change, there is a strong argument to be made that renaming the segment in question would reduce confusion. Wellington Street is anything but continuous, with many breaks and twists over its distance.

Sir John is deserving of much more than the naming of the street where our parliamentarians meet. But in an era of restraint it would be less costly than building a much-needed museum of Canadian history.

Macdonald's vision and guiding hand moulded this nation and steered us through a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles over most of the latter half of the 19th century. He thwarted American manifest destiny by cobbling together British colonies in North America, which he bound in common purpose through an improbable inter-continental railroad. And he succeeded in uniting English and French in a way that no subsequent prime minister has been able to match. The apt title of Richard's Gwyn's latest biography on Macdonald says it all: The Man Who Made Us.

We could use more reminders of his vision for Canada and his greatness.

Bob Plamondon is the author of Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics.

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