By: Henry Dobozy and Zoe Clouthier

Have you ever noticed the statue that sits in our school's front lawn? The one of the young boy dressed in Victorian attire? Well, this statue depicts none other than William Lyon Mackenzie King, the 10th (and longest serving) Prime Minister of Canada, and a former KCI alumni. He is something of a symbol for the city of Kitchener, with his birthplace being a popular historical site. Aside from the statue, a photo of King is prominently displayed in the cabinet of our school's front foyer. King is an incredibly important figure in Canada's history; he guided our country through WWII and assured our independence from England. Thus, his attendance at KCI is quite notable for our school. However, King’s legacy has drawn some criticism in recent years largely due to his establishment of internment camps for Japanese immigrants during the Second World War, his alarmingly close relationship with Adolf Hitler before the breakout of the war, and his refusal to allow a group of fleeing Jewish immigrants to enter the country during the MS St. Louis affair.

King remains a controversial figure in Canada, with many arguing that he was a good leader who laid the framework for the Canada of today, and many others arguing that he was a racist and largely ineffective leader who often made costly mistakes. But what does our school community have to say about our 10th Prime Minister? 

To begin, there were students we questioned who preferred to stay anonymous (due to the political nature of this issue), who remarked that they had no idea the school had any connection to the former Prime Minister. Thus, some of these anonymous students suggested that King, as he clearly does not take up any space in the minds of the current student body, is no longer relevant to the KCI of today and should no longer be associated with. Conversely, one of the students argued that the school should more openly associate themselves with King, to increase awareness of his legacy around the school. Grade 12 student Breanne Bissonette remarked that she thinks “we shouldn’t have the statue up, because it celebrates [King] even though he did lots of bad things” she continued to say that she felt keeping the statue up “connects the student body with [King] in a way that I am not comfortable with”.

On the faculty side of things, Mr. Miller, a history and geography teacher at KCI, stated that “It’s undeniable that Mackenzie King is probably our most famous alumni, one of the most consequential figures in Canadian history. But also there’s a lot of baggage attached to that”. He added, “We shouldn’t try to lionize and deify people, you know ‘burn your idols’ and all that. Nobody is above criticism, nobody is above a revision of our understanding of them. King’s handling of the MS St. Louis, which sent back hundreds of Jewish refugees, most of whom ended up dying in the Holocaust, was atrocious, and so was the unlawful, and unethical internment of Japanese Canadians”. When asked for a possible solution to the issue of the schools association with King, Mr. Miller stated that he would accept “differing opinion plaques, so that people can read up on the history,” but that he would prefer the statue be donated to a local history museum and taken off campus.

In summation, King’s reputation as a controversial figure holds true even in our school. Certain members of our community feel uncomfortable with KCI’s association with the man and would prefer his statue removed, and others feel that the school could and should do more to promote this historical connection. It remains to be seen if any action will be taken regarding this issue, but we at The Edge will be here to report on it if it is.