Prime Ministers Path officially reopened in Baden
By Lee Griffi
The Prime Ministers Path (PMP) in Baden is officially back.
A celebration was held Saturday, Sept. 12, on the grounds of Castle Kilbride, where a new statue was unveiled before dignitaries and members of the Wilmot community.
“The Unfortunate Four” was supposed to be installed in June 2020, but the statue of Sir John Abbot, Sir Mackenzie Powell, Sir John Thompson and Sir Charles Tupper never made it out of storage because of the pandemic.
One year later, Wilmot Township council voted to kill the PMP when the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was vandalized and put into storage after a movement to cancel the former prime minister because of his role in the creation of residential schools and associated policies contributing to the oppression and systemic subjugation of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
The statue of the four men was originally labelled “The Forgotten Four,” but sculptor Nathan Scott said he changed the name to more accurately reflect the history involved.
“They just never got going. Death and sickness, and they just got nothing done,” he said.
The four served a combined five years between 1891 and 1896 after Macdonald and before Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
“It’s been so fun to be a part of this project and bringing those guys to life. I’ve created a conversation. I didn’t want them just standing there very formally, and they all knew each other. They were part of the same cabinet,” Scott said.
Macdonald suffered a second stroke, which is when Abbot took over as prime minister, although he admitted he never wanted it. He retired after just 17 months on the job after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
The 47-year-old Thompson then took the country’s reins and held office for just over two years. He travelled to England’s Windsor Castle to be sworn into Queen Victoria’s Imperial Privy Council but shortly afterwards, suffered a heart attack and died at the castle.
Bowell then took over immediately but was forced out after serving about 16 months. He was said to be hard to work with, and as a result, seven of his cabinet ministers quit and called him incompetent.
Tupper had the shortest tenure of the four unlucky men. He was prime minister for 68 days and promptly lost an election to Sir Wilfred Laurier, a Liberal.
“He is our shortest-running prime minister. These guys just couldn’t get it together. I think the Canadian population at that time just had enough of it and they voted in Laurier. It went from the Conservatives to the Liberals,” said Scott.
He added the project was an enjoyable one for him and encouraged people to take a close look at the men.
“When this is all finished, come take a look around and see all the little details. It tells a story.”
Scott also became emotional at the end of his speech.
“This one’s for Jim. We miss him.”
Jim Rodger, one of the founders of the Prime Ministers Path, died in May 2024 from pancreatic cancer. Alison Rodger, his widow, is a member of the current steering committee and also spoke at the event.
“For me, this is much more than the return of a collection of sculptures. It is the continuation of a vision that my late husband … helped bring to life. Jim was deeply involved from its inception through its development and right up to the difficult decision to dismantle the path in 2021.”
She added her late husband would have been incredibly proud to attend the event.
“He knew that conversations were taking place about the possibility of reinstating the path. He knew there was hope it might happen, but he never knew this day would actually come. I have often wished he could have known and yet, standing here today, I feel somehow that he does know.”
In April 2026, council agreed to lease the nine statues to CreateScape for 20 years at $2 per year and authorized their placement in the park behind the township administration complex. Council also approved covering reinstallation costs up to $78,000, offset by donations received for the project.
Before the current steering committee, a 12-member community working group met from October 2024 through April 2025 as part of the township's renewed engagement process. It reviewed public feedback and produced the recommendations that ultimately led council to vote unanimously in July 2025 to reinstall the statues.
Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen acknowledged the presence of several protestors who also attended the event.
“I would like to acknowledge that there are people gathered elsewhere in our park today to express views that differ from our own. Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental rights in Canada.”
The protestors remained silent until the ceremony was over, when they addressed the crowd over their own sound system.
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