Alberta to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill with statue in Calgary

A statue to honour Sir Winston Churchill, a man Alberta's premier calls one of the greatest leaders of the modern era, will soon be set up in downtown Calgary.

Officials say the installation of the statue in Alberta is important because the former U.K. prime minister "had a special affection for Alberta."

"On his 1929 visit to our province, he visited with admiration both the oil wells of Turner Valley and the magnificent mountainscapes of Banff, several of which he depicted in watercolour paintings. He was so attracted to Alberta that he very nearly bought a ranch here," said Jason Kenney in a release.

The depiction, which is one-and-a-half times Churchill's actual height, will be put up in the spring.

CONTROVERSIAL VIEWS

The monument is especially notable considering some of the more recent revelations about Churchill.

He carried troubling views on both race and colonialism, saying some races are stronger than others and that white Christians are "higher-grade."

Many historians believe he prioritized white European lives during his time in office.

"(He was) not a perfect figure," Kenney said in a government video. "He made mistakes in his own time and, like anybody who comes from a different century, could be judged harshly by today's standards."

Other statues of Churchill have been defaced multiple times.

One in his home country was vandalized during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Closer to home, someone dumped red paint last summer over a similar monument in Edmonton.

This isn't the first time Kenney has drawn heat over a controversial statue.

Last year, he offered to take a Sir John A. MacDonald statue from Quebec to Alberta's legislature after it was defaced.

SOCIETY SUCCESS

The cost of construction and installation of the statue, including its maintenance, will be fully covered by the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary.

According to the group's website, approximately $307,000 had been raised through different campaigns to pay for the project.

The group's president, Mark Milke, previously held roles inside the UCP. He was involved with the party's election platform and was a principal policy advisor to Kenney. He also held a position in the Canadian Energy Centre -- more commonly referred to as the war room. It ended in October.

Milke tells CTV News this project predates his involvement with the premier, and that he's disappointed the issue would be politicized.

MONUMENTAL

The upcoming Calgary installation was crafted by Edmonton artist Danek Mozdzenski.

He has also created statues of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, jazz musician Clarence Horatio Miller, Alberta Lt.-Gov. Lois Hole and Alberta suffragist Nellie McClung.

"Calgary is one of the only cities in Canada not to have a Sir Winston Churchill statue, unlike Edmonton, whose citizens proudly named the symbol centre of the city Sir Winston Churchill Square," Kenney said.

A northwest Calgary high school also bears the name of the two-time prime minister, who is often credited with leading his nation to defeat facism and the Nazi regime in the Second World War.