Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre backed Canada’s founder for the second time in as many months. “We should honor our first Prime Minister, without whom we would not have a Canada, today,” he said.

When asked for his ideas on “cultural sovereignty,” Poilievre replied: “I think we need a renewed commitment to celebrating our heritage and our identity.”

The Liberal cabinet in 2019 issued a revised Framework For History And Commemoration emphasizing past discrimination, reported Blacklock’s. 

“In Canadian history colonialism, patriarchy and racism are examples of ideologies and structures that have profound legacies,” it said. “There is a need to be cognizant of, and to confront, these legacies. This contributes to the ongoing process of truth-telling and reconciliation.”

The federal Historic Sites and Monuments Board subsequently blacklisted Prime Minister John Macdonald for “colonial assumptions,” including support for Residential schools. 

Poilievre details how Conservatives will support local journalism and renew Canada's commitment to celebrating its heritage and identity.

Public monuments will be named after Sir John A. Macdonald and others, along with celebrating Canada's military history, he says. pic.twitter.com/RhcAngSpgz

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 17, 2025

“Over the last 10 years there's been a tendency to tear down our statues, change the names of different public monuments in order to cancel our history,” Poilievre said.

“I think that has weakened the bonds that used to tie us together.”

On Thursday, January 9, Poilievre defended Macdonald as a national hero despite the residential school controversy. That Saturday marked the 210th anniversary of Macdonald’s birth, reported Blacklock’s.

“We need to honour our past and our shared values,” he said at the time. “We need to live out the dream that started with John A. Macdonald. … who believed in an independent and sovereign Canada.”

“His vision of an east-west nation is really now more than ever needed.”

Poilievre explains what it means "to be a proud Canadian" and "what it means to put Canada first."

"Rebuilding our economy. Bringing home production. Rebuilding our military. Supporting a strong border. Reinstating controls on immigration, and, most of all, being proud of our… pic.twitter.com/VoXMPDYpy8

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 9, 2025

On Monday, Poilievre once again urged Canadians to defend their heritage. Be “unapologetic for our history,” he said. “Stop tearing down our symbols.” 

A prior Access to Information request by True North revealed Parks Canada wanted to “decolonize” the Bellevue House exhibit, Macdonald’s historical home. 

As part of those efforts, the agency reopened the site last May 18 with “racism and sexism” tours, projecting colonial guilt and historical revisionism.

Library and Archives Canada in 2021 also deleted a celebratory post of Macdonald on its website, claiming it did not “reflect our diverse and multicultural country.”

Poilievre believes that landing on Canadian soil is the “greatest gift” newcomers can receive. “They should be proud to be part of the Canadian family.”

The Bank of Canada in 2018 also replaced Macdonald on its $10 banknote with a portrait of Viola Desmond, a Nova Scotia civil rights pioneer. 

Historica Canada deleted this 60-second Heritage Minute video about Sir John A. Macdonald from YouTube citing “feedback from educators."

Celebrating Macdonald in any way is strictly forbidden in Justin Trudeau's Canada. pic.twitter.com/20PsfIZ4Zu

— Harrison Faulkner (@Harry__Faulkner) July 4, 2024

Should the Conservatives form government, Poilievre vowed to name public monuments after Macdonald, “and many of our other historical figures.”

“We will put a renewed focus on celebrating the military history, the extremely proud military history that we have over a century of defending freedom at home and around the world,” he told reporters.

“We will ensure that our young people have chances to participate in that history by expanding, for example, the Cadet Corps and other programs that bring our people together from coast to coast to coast to coast.

“We have to celebrate our proud heritage and our common Canadian identity.”

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