Statue of Sir George-Étienne Cartier (1814-1873) (City of Ottawa, Ontario)

 statue  Add category

Banished early in his political career for participating in the Rebellion in Lower Canada in 1837, Sir George-Étienne Cartier would go on to be created a baronet for the integral role he played in Canadian Confederation. Cartier formed a joint ministry for a United Canada from 1857 to 1862 with long-time friend Sir John A. Macdonald, thus serving as joint Prime Minister. Cartier died in 1873 at the age of 58.

Deeply affected by Cartier's death, Macdonald proposed that he be given both a state funeral and commemorative monument. As the first monument to be erected on Parliament Hill, the competition attracted entries from Canada, the United States of America, Great Britain, and Italy. The winner was Quebec sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert. This would prove to be the first of four monuments he would create for Parliament Hill.