Winston Churchill statue unveiled at McDougall Centre in Calgary

The Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary unveiled a statue of Sir Winston Churchill Thursday, joined by the late UK prime minister’s great-grandson, Randall Churchill III, and Premier Danielle Smith.Former Premier Jason Kenny, who helped instigate the project during his time in office, also joined in the unveiling of the grand, bronze statue on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy, France during the Second World War. D-Day marks the end of Nazi tyranny in the West. Dr. Mark Milke, board member of the society and president and founder of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, told the crowd of more than 100 people the organization received donations ranging from $5 to $50,000 to fund the making of the $300,000 statue created by Edmonton sculptor Danek Mozdzenski..Milke described Churchill as a man of many talents, including “oratorical and communication skills as exemplified by the debates, speeches and writings,” as well as his leadership and “achievements in the face of tyranny and the preservation of freedom.” Churchill also had great artistic talent and was a painter. “Churchill could have made different choices in his life, the choices he did make, to describe the world and the threats as he saw them, and the choice to remain in Great Britain and to buck up his fellow citizens would in turn impact the entire world for the better,” said Milke. “Winston Churchill was key to preserving freedom and democracy, in not only his country, but ours, and other nations.”“Men and women and their choices matter to human history and human freedom and human flourishing. And Sir Winston Churchill's choice to stay and fight matters, as did the choice of so many Canadians on this day, 80 years ago, to serve and to fight. We remember those Canadians, and their sacrifices and service, lest we forget.”.Randall Churchill said it was an honour to join the unveiling ceremony in what his great-grandfather “called, affectionately, ‘the Great Dominion.’”Churchill referred to Canada’s national anthem, and the “poignant” line “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free.” “And so it is,” said Churchill. “Today is D-Day plus 80 and it is right for us to remember those Canadian heroes who won our freedoms in two World Wars, Canadian young men, including from the indigenous population, signed up in droves to aid the mother country.”Churchill said something the late Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister, told him 10 years ago while visiting him at the place of his great-grandfather’s birth. “From a population of only 11 million, over one million Canadian men and women served in uniform” in the Second World War, said Churchill, adding with those brave Canadians who volunteered to fight, Canada had the fifth-largest naval fleet, the fourth-largest airforce in the world," he said. “More than 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed on Normandy on D-Day, wading out of the surf at Juno, or dropping out of the sky. “It was the commitment of the Canadian government, but particularly of your young men, that your nation was Churchilll’s lynch pin.”“Churchill’s own values constituted the underpinnings of his legacy: his courage, strength, emotions, steadfastness, determination, perseverance in the face of adversity, defiance, honesty and generosity, along with his ever-present good humour and oratorical brilliance and his skills as a writer, that resulted in a Nobel prize in Literature.” Churchill quotes his great-grandfather’s famous 1944 speech, “We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the landing ground, we shall fight them in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight them in the hills, we shall never surrender.” He quoted the “lesser-known” part of Churchill’s speech, “The peoples of the British Empire, are a tough and hearty lot — we have not journeyed all this way across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy.” “We shall never descend to the German and Japanese level, but if the anybody likes to play rough, we can play rough too,” he said, quoting the late Churchill. “Hitler and his Nazi gang have sown the wind, let them reap the whirlwind. The enemies raged against us, coalesced and combined against us, have called for total war. Let’s make sure they get it.” Churchill commended Canadians who “stood shoulder to shoulder with other allies, and wrestled back the world from tyranny.” .Smith said she was honoured to “mark the incredible life and legacy of Sir Winston Churchill, a remarkable man whose courageous actions and leadership changed the course of history." She noted the significance of unveiling the status on the 80th anniversary of D-Day because, “when 160,000 allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history,” it was “a day that altered the direction of the Second World War and proved to be one of the ultimate turning points of the 21st century.”“It’s quite fitting them, that today we are unveiling a statue that commemorates one of the greatest leaders of all time. Sir Winston Churchill’s unwavering defence of democracy in the face of tyranny, injustice and oppression is one of the reasons why we are free to gather here today. He is a champion of human rights and freedoms. He opposed antisemitism, fought against segregation, and fought for the fair treatment of all workers.” “He firmly stood up for what he believed, and his love of freedom was a love of freedom for all. Smith noted Churchill“ also loved Alberta.” He travelled to the province almost 100 years ago and “saw the potential of our energy industry” and “fell in love with the Rocky mountains," said Smith.“He carried that beauty in his heart, memorializing the Rockies through his many watercolour paintings. And today through art we memorialize him.” .Kenny spoke directly to people who wish to tear down and “cancel” the legacy of great historical figures like Churchill. The former premier reminded people Churchill stood up to tyranny and his bravery resulted in freedom for others. “Here in Calgary, it is astonishing to think that in our own time, there are some who seek to cancel the memory of this, the greatest leader of the modern era. Those who seek to do so apparently do not understand how he stood in the breach between freedom and tyranny, in a way that was extraordinary and essential to ultimate victory,” said Kenny. Kenny recalled Churchill’s role in “the fight against the Nazi war machine in May of 1940,” when France had fallen and “the allied nations had been humiliated.”While the Americans “were still sitting on the sidelines” and Britain faced Nazi invasion, Churchill “stood famously on the floor of the House of Commons” and uttered “these immortal words: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.'""'You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war, by sea, land and air with all our might, and with all the strength that God can give us to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. Victory, victory at all costs, victory, in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival.”’Kenney continued: “So it is not just fitting, it is essential, that we remember his call down through the decades because that vigilance is always necessary as we see new forms of evil and aggression in the world today.”“I say to those who seek to cancel our own history, to cancel the greatest champion of freedom of the 20th century, the greatest nemesis of Adolf Hitler, I say, to those who seek to tear down that history, we choose as Albertans as Calgarians as Canadians instead, to build up that history and to remember to transmit that memory to future generations.”.The crowd observed in silence as the veil, which was actually a parachute from the Second World War, was pulled. Moments later, about eight protestors moved in behind the statue holding up signs about racism and sexism. .Demonstrators were at the scene because they believe Churchill is a figure who represents oppression and someone needs to stand up for the "other side." However, they refused to speak further with the Western Standard.