Skip to content

Vandals target MP and organizer of Sir John A. Macdonald birthday commemoration

Vandals in Kingston, Ont., have slashed the tires and poured red paint on a car belong to the main organizer of a birthday tribute to Sir John A. Macdonald.

KINGSTON, Ont. — Vandals in Kingston, Ont., have slashed the tires and poured red paint on a car belong to the main organizer of a birthday tribute to Sir John A. Macdonald.

Arthur Milnes, a local historian, journalist and speechwriter, says he awoke this morning to find the damage outside his Kingston home, including a burned Canadian flag left under his car.

The vehicle of local Liberal member of Parliament, Mark Gerretsen, was also targeted sometime before today's noon-time event in downtown Kingston to commemorate the birth of Canada's first prime minister.

A small group of protesters attended the birthday celebration, objecting to Macdonald's 19th century policies toward indigenous peoples in the early years after confederation.

Milnes says he and his wife were deeply shocked by the vandalism at his home address, which is not publicly listed.

In the past, vandals have splashed red paint on a downtown Macdonald statue and on local historical plaques commemorating the Scots-born father of Confederation, who called Kingston home.