Upper Canada - Ottawa, Ontario
Posted by: Weathervane
N 45° 25.556 W 075° 41.948
18T E 445307 N 5030505
The allegorical figure of Upper-Canada is located on the Baldwin-Lafontaine monument located on Parliament Hill, to the right and behind the Centre-Block of the Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa, Ontario
Waymark Code: WMY842
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/08/2018
Views: 14
The Baldwin/Lafontaine monument is meant to represent the "service and peaceful collaboration between differing peoples which had formed the foundation of the British Empire," in this case the French of Lower Canada and the English of Upper Canada. Robert Baldwin and Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine were important figures in the movement toward responsible government in pre-Confederation Canada. But make no mistake, the figures of Baldwin and Lafontaine do not act as sign of English culture and French culture in Canada; this task is left to the reclining female allegories carved in low relief on the long, curved, wall-like pedestal atop which stand the two political figures. Guernsey describes the allegories thus: "Below Baldwin reclines a partially clothed female figure. Representing Upper Canada, she is associated with a plow, while across
from her a similar figure beside the prow of a ship, is identified as Bas Canada."
Symbols of a crown and fleur-de-lis further define each character while other symbols or attributes such as the mace, symbol of government, and the down-turned sword of justice further testify to the characters and ideals of the individual men.
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