At an event this afternoon at Confederation Building in St. John’s, the Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, announced the commissioning of a new statue to pay homage to the province’s wartime legacy.
The statue will reside at the foot of the steps of Confederation Building, accompanying existing statues of John Cabot and the Beothuk. Renowned Newfoundland and Labrador sculptor Morgan MacDonald will complete the sculpture. The artistic vision of the statue was revealed at the announcement, which highlights historic symbols close to the hearts of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Newfoundlanders fought as a Dominion during the First World War where it has been said that a generation of young men was lost. Having joined Canada in 1949, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and other Canadians also fought in the Second World War, the Korean War, the Gulf War and in Afghanistan.
On July 1, 2024, Newfoundland and Labrador commemorated the centennial of the National War Memorial in downtown St. John’s, which included the repatriation and burial of an unknown soldier from the First World War.
Budget 2025 includes $1 million in additional funding to expand the Trail of the Caribou Commemoration Program, ensuring young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians remember the sacrifices of the generations before them.
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“There will never be enough done to honour the courage and sacrifices of the many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we experience today. This statue will honour them, the families and friends left behind, as well as those who have come home with physical and emotional wounds. Our wartime legacy is a point of pride for our province and people and it seems most appropriate to have a memorial statue right here, at the steps of Confederation Building, where our unknown soldier lay in state upon coming home.”
Honourable Dr. Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
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