WHAT’S THE STORY?
HIS statue has long been the subject of protest, now British military leader Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis has been knocked off his pedestal in Canada.

The removal of the statue is a victory for Indigenous activists and their supporters in Halifax, which Cornwallis founded in his role as governor of Nova Scotia.

He later placed a bounty on the lives of Mi’kmaq men, women and children in the so-called scalping proclamation aimed at solidifying colonial power.

The Canadian posting came after the aristocrat played a key role in the Duke of Cumberland’s forces during the 1745 Jacobite Rising.

Ordered to “plunder, burn and destroy through all the west part of Invernesshire called Lochaber”, he led 320 men in a campaign to stamp out Highland resistance.

HOW DID HE END UP WITH A STATUE?
Sometimes it seems history loves nothing better than to honour violent men responsible for violent acts.

The Canadian National Railway set the tribute in a park as a tourist draw in 1931, but the controversy over its existence prompted concerns about damage to the city’s reputation, contributing to the removal decision.

On Canada Day last year an Indigenous rally at the bronze figure was the focus of tension after supporters of the statue, who identified themselves as members of the Proud Boys “western chauvinist” organisation, disrupted the event.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT NOW?
That’s unclear as yet. Following the removal on Wednesday, it will be placed in storage until a solution can be found.

The exact location has not been disclosed for fear of attracting the attention of anyone seeking to deface the sculpture.

The removal came just 24 hours after a vote by local councillors. However, that speed follows months of delay that led to frustrations on both sides of the argument.

Discussions about how best to recognise Indigenous history and deal with the colonial legacy continue.

Watching the process, one member of the Potlotek First Nation told reporters: “I feel like my ancestors can finally rest.”

WHAT’S THE WIDER CONTEXT?
The removal follows similar actions in America, where statues erected in memory of Confederate figures have been taken down and often destroyed. That process has also been controversial, with some arguing that icons of white supremacy have no place in contemporary society and others that history is being erased.

Like its southern neighbour, Canada is also reevaluating its own story, including tensions between Indigenous and settler communities.

Authorities in Montreal have removed the name from a street of one British general who wrote that he wanted to “extirpate this execrable race” of Indigenous peoples in the 1760s, while teachers in Ontario have been pushing to rename buildings named after Scottish-born prime minister Sir John A Macdonald, who led the country when the first residential schools for Indigenous children were approved.

Pupils were removed from their communities and placed in the institutions in a bid to assimilate them into Euro-Canadian culture, with siblings separated and their languages and traditions banned.