Gatineau relocates Samuel de Champlain monument as other cities remove statues of the explorer

Gatineau's Samuel de Champlain statue was created by artist Jérémie Giles in 2001. Photo by Ville de Gatineau

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A city in Quebec has reinstalled its monument to Samuel de Champlain in a new location, almost a decade after it was originally taken down for maintenance.

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The monument to the French explorer was relocated to the parc de la Francophonie, in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday. Previously, the statue was installed at the intersection of promenade du Portage and rue Laval until 2016, when it was removed during construction work in downtown Gatineau.

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In an email to National Post, written in French, a spokesperson for Ville de Gatineau said that “several relocation sites were considered” for the monument, and the new site was “chosen based on several criteria.”

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These included its city centre location near the Ottawa River, which was the waterway used by Champlain, and the soil composition that makes it suitable for a sculpture of this weight and size.

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The relocated statue, which was created by artist Jérémie Giles in 2001, is currently without its sword, but Ville de Gatineau says restoration on this part of the monument will be carried out in August.

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Meanwhile, Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nation in western Quebec told Radio-Canada that his community had not been consulted over the monument.

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“There should be a plaque that recognizes the fact that he wasn’t an explorer and he had the assistance of the First Nations to show him our territory and gave him permission,” he said.

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“We guided them through our territory, allowed them to go through our territory — at the time he needed our permission — so he didn’t discover anything.”

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The reinstatement of the monument comes as other Canadian cities face questions over their statues of the 17th-century explorer and founder of Quebec City.

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In May, the city council in Orillia, Ont., voted to remove their statue of Champlain owing to the controversy that surrounds the historic French explorer, as well as instances of vandalism.

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The Samuel de Champlain statue in Orillia, Ont., before it was removed. Photo by City of Orillia

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The monument, which was originally erected in 1925, had previously been taken down by Parks Canada in 2017 for restoration amid reconciliation discussions, and was only briefly returned to its plinth by Mayor Don McIsaac.

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“The vast majority of Orillians want the monument returned. They’ve done surveys. They’ve done all sorts of reach outs and people want it returned,” McIsaac, who voted against removing the statue, said in an interview at the time.

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“That is not reconciliation. You should leave it up. It’s history. You should use it as part of your journey forward.”

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Meanwhile, Orillia Councillor Janet-Lynne Durnford, who voted in favour of removing Champlain’s statue, said in an interview that the statue was part of her childhood landscape.