A statue of the Scottish-born founding father of the Canadian nation has been toppled in a symbolic rebuff almost 130 years after his death

Officials in Victoria, capital of British Columbia, decided to remove the bronze statue of Sir John A Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, because of his treatment of the country’s indigenous population.

Macdonald, whose family emigrated from Glasgow in the early 19th century, brokered the deal that established the country 150 years ago. He was also the architect of the 1876 Indian Act, which led to native Canadian children being forcibly taken from their parents.

Lisa Helps, Victoria’s left-wing mayor, said that the Macdonald statue was a “painful reminder of colonial violence” and deserved to be toppled

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