Peace Monuments in Ontario (Canada)

Right click image to enlarge.

1921 - Peace Memorial School, 85 East 36th Street, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). Only the portico (in the shape of a triumphal or memorial arch) was preserved when the 84-year old school was demolished in the Summer of 2005. The site is now called Peace Memorial Park and is under development.

1927 - Peace Tower of Victory & Peace / Tour de la Victoire et de la Paix, Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Usually called simply "The Peace Tower." Sits on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings.

August 17, 1925 - International Peace Bridge, Niagara River, US/Canadian Border between Buffalo, New York (USA), & Fort Erie, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1208 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

September 14, 1929 - Peace Fountain, Amsterdam Park, St. Clair Avenue W at Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Unveiled same day as the Peter Pan statue across Avenue Road. Inscribed: "[Replica of] the fountain at [the Peace] Palace, The Hague. Presented by H.H. Williams... as a mark of his love [for peace]." A wealthy real estate agent, Williams also donated land for the surrounding park (which received its present name in 1974 when Totonto & Amsterdam became twin cities).

June 12, 1930 - Angel of Peace, Shrine Peace Memorial, Exposition Park, 2 Strachan Avenue, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). "Presented to the people of Canada by Imperial Potentate, Noble Leo V. Youngworth, on behalf of the 600,000 members of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners) to commemorate the peaceful relationships existing for over a century between Canada and the United States." By American sculptor Charles Keck [1875-1951]. Unveiled during Canadian National Exposition. Entry #1333 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

July 17, 1958 - Peace Monument, Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power House & Dam, St. Lawrence-Franklin Deleno Roosevelt Power Project, St. Lawrence River between Massena, New York (USA), and Cornwall, Ontario (Canada). The dam's 32 turbine-generators are divided equally by the international border, with the two sections operated independently by the NY Power Authorty (NYPA) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Queen Elizabeth II dedicated the monument on the international border inside the power house.

1965 - International Friendship Garden, Thunder Bay, Ontario (Canada). Soroptimist International. Entry #1318 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1967 - Knights of Columbus Peace Monument, West End of Dieppe Park, Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Three modernistic columns representing the three persons of the Trinity as they look down on a troubled, war-torn world. Inscribed "Pray for Peace." Designed by Donald Ailles & produced by the Smith Monument Company of Toronto. Erected in Canada's Centennial Year of 1967 by the Knights of Columbus of Ontario "as an inspiration to world peace, 1867-1967."

1967 - Lester B. Pearson Peace Park, Tweed, Ontario (Canada). Lester Bowles Pearson [1897-1972] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957. Entry #1336 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

Date? - Statue of Lester B. Pearson, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Lester Bowles Pearson [1897-1972] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.

October 1984 - Peace Garden, Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Created for Toronto's sesquicentennial. "Measures 60 square metres and consists of a small sculptured structure, an eternal flame, a pool and stone platforms and wall. In September 1984, His Holiness Pope John Paul II lit the Eternal Flame of Peace using a torch ignited at the Hiroshima Peace Shrine, and poured water into the pool that was taken from the river that flows through Nagasaki. The Peace Garden was formally dedicated a month later by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II." Entry #1330 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

July 1, 1985 - Monument to Multiculturalism, Union Station, 65 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). "Presented to Toronto on the occasion of its sesquicentennial by the national congress of Italian Canadians on behalf of the Italian Canadian Community. Unveiled on Canada Day by the mayor of the city of Toronto, Arthur Eggleton, in the presence of the premier of the Province of Ontario, David Peterson." Sculpted by Italian artist Francesco Perilli .

October 24, 1987 - London Peace Garden, near the Forks of the Thames, London, Ontario (Canada). "Dedicated to global peace based on justice, freedom, truth and love on UN Day. The garden was first envisioned by London community activist Joe Bath and sponsored by Ploughshares London and several other community organizations." Entry #1284 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1989 - Peace Park, Gloucester, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1278 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1992 - Charlie Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain, Peace Park, Detroit River, Windsor, Ontario (Canada). At former Coventry Gardens. Entry #1342 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1992 - Reconcilation (National Peacekeeping Monument), Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Memorializes Canadian "casques bleus / blue caps" who served in UN peace-keeping missions in Korea (1947), Palestine (1948), Golan Heights, former Yugoslavia, and Somalia. Erected during 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation (Canada 125). Entry #1302 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Click here for an analysis of this monument by Paul Gough.

1992 - Peace Grove, Cane Parkway, Newmarket, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1290 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1992 - Peace Park, Stouffville, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1313 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1995 - Peace Grove, Mississauga, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1289 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1996 - Peace Garden, Saint Agnes School, Chatham, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1274 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1996 - United Nations Peace Water Garden, Bladen Library, Scarborough, Uniersity of Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1312 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

November 1996 - World Peace Bell (WPB), City Hall, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). One of about 20 WPB's placed in different coutries by the World Peace Bell Association (WPBA), Tokyo (Japan).

1998 - Peace Garden, Georgina, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1277 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1998 - Peace Garden, Johnsview Village Public School, Thornhill, Ontario (Canada). Entry #1317 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

2000 - The Famous Five (or The Valiant Five), Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). "Built in the memory of Emily Murphy, Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Mooney McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney & Henrietta Muir Edwards. The five women from Alberta became famous for asking the Supreme Court of Canada if the word ‘Persons’ in section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, includes female persons, thus starting the women’s rights movement in Canada in the 1920's" and leading to female suffrage.

October 20, 2001 - Tower of Freedom, 100 Pitt Street East, Windsor, Ontario (Canada). "Faces the Gateway to Freedom monument across the Detroit River and together are called the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad. A twenty-two foot high tower with a bronze Flame of Freedom created by Denver based sculptor Ed Dwight. The monument honours the harrowing journey made by thousands in search of freedom and pays tribute to Ontario’s role in the Underground Railroad."

2003 - Rotary International Peace Monument, Charles J. Clark Square, Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Erected by Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland. Photo shows portion of the monument with Caesars Windsor (casino) in the immediate background and the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan (USA), in the distance.

2005. - Rotary International Peace Park, RIM Park, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada). "RIM Park [sic] is the City of Waterloo's premier 500-acre park and recreation facility."

November 8, 2005 - Parkdale World Peace Monument & Fountain, next to Parkdale branch, Toronto Public Library, 1303 Queen Street West, Parkdale, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). Globe designed by Halifax artist Peter Dykhuis.

October 22, 2006 - Peace Monument, Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, 271 Van Horne Street, Sudbury, Ontario (Canada). Stainless steel. Erected by Les Jésuites de Sudbury in celebration of a triple jubilee: The 450th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, as well as the 500th anniversary of the birthday of two well-known Jesuits, Francis-Xavier and Pierre Favre. Peace is represented by a dove, a Christian Cross, and symbols in the letters A(lpha) and O(mega) representing the 12 world religions. The dove and Cross are distinctly at the top.

Future - Peace Memorial Park, 85 East 36th Street, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). "This 2.17 hectare (5.37 acre) former Peace Memorial School site is being re-developed as a passive neighbourhood park. Peace Memorial School [qv] was constructed in 1918 [sic] as a memorial to those who gave their lives during the First World War."