Statue of Queen Elizabeth repaired and reinstalled at Manitoba legislature, 2 years after vandalism
CTV
A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth that was toppled and damaged by protesters two years ago was put back in its place Friday on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature after a lengthy set of repairs.
A bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth that was toppled and damaged by protesters two years ago was put back in its place Friday on the grounds of the Manitoba legislature after a lengthy set of repairs.
The statue, almost three metres high, landed face first when it was hauled to the ground on Canada Day in 2021 by demonstrators following the discovery of suspected unmarked graves at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
"The face was pushed in, the arm was scraped, and the whole base was totally crooked, too," Charles Brunet, the third-generation owner of Brunet Monuments, recalled Friday as he and a crew of workers reinstalled the statue under a sweltering sun.
The repair, done in conjunction with a Saskatchewan company contracted by Brunet, also involved sandblasting and giving the statue a new protective coating.
"I'm so elated. I'm so excited. She is up, she is looking good. She's solid, too," he said with a chuckle. "I won't be called again, I hope."
The work was partly personal for Brunet, who had worked on installing the statue decades ago. It was originally in a less-prominent spot near the Manitoba Museum and was relocated to its current position -- a garden beside the lieutenant-governor's house on the east side of the legislature -- in 2010.
"We're so happy that's she's back in her home," he said.
