Queen Victoria Statue Vandalized with Red Paint After Curfew on Saint-Patrick’s Day

Communique on recent action in Montreal. Originally posted to Montreal Counter-Info.

Montreal — The Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade re-united in Montreal last night on an anti-colonial Saint-Patrick’s Day. They defied curfew to again vandalize the landmark bronze statue to Queen Victoria — unveiled in 1900 and located on Sherbrooke Street at McGill University — this time in red paint.

According to Pádraig Patel of the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade: “There is a renewed focus on the brutal legacy of the British monarchy, which is a clear symbol of racism and colonialism. Forget about celebrity distractions, let’s focus on getting rid of monarchs as one important action linked to our movements for social justice.”

Another member of the brigade, Sujata Sands, mentions: “We do regret that we were unable to topple the statue tonite, as those cool kids did back in August 2020 to the John A. Macdonald statue.”

A third member of the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade, Lakshmi O’Leary, declared: “Just put the British Royal Family, all of them, into a limousine, give them a drunk French chaffeur, and let nature take its course.”

Concerning the Queen Victoria statue, the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade wrote on St. Patrick’s Day 2019: “The presence of Queen Victoria statues in Montreal are an insult to the self-determination and resistance struggles of oppressed peoples worldwide, including Indigenous nations in North America (Turtle Island) and Oceania, as well as the peoples of Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, the Indian subcontinent, and everywhere the British Empire committed its atrocities. Queen Victoria’s reign, which continues to be whitewashed in history books and in popular media, represented a massive expansion of the barbaric British Empire. Collectively her reign represents a criminal legacy of genocide, mass murder, torture, massacres, terror, forced famines, concentration camps, theft, cultural denigration, racism, and white supremacy. That legacy should be denounced and attacked.”

Some previous attacks on Queen Victoria statues in Montreal:

• October 20, 2019 by anti-colonial anarchists: https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2019/10/21/quebec-vandals-strike-again
• May 17, 2019 by Montreal May Day Anarchists: https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreals-john-a-macdonald-and-queen-victoria-statues-vandalized-again
• March 24, 2019 by Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade: https://globalnews.ca/news/5090688/queen-victoria-statue-vandalized-in-montreal/
• December 24, 2018 by Santa’s Rebel Elves: https://www.facebook.com/NoBordersMediaNetwork/videos/1005478032992709 (video)
• May 18, 2018 by Henri Paul* Anti-Monarchy Brigade: https://sub.media/video/queen-victoria-statues-vandalized-in-montreal/ (video report)
• March 17, 2018 by Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade: https://vimeo.com/260188932 (video)