Five Teams Selected to Prepare Design Proposals for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan 

OTTAWA, August 24, 2020

The design competition for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan took an important step forward today when the Government of Canada announced the five teams selected to develop design proposals for the Monument.

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, announced that the following teams of artists, landscape architects, architects and other professionals were shortlisted by a jury of experts following the Request for Qualifications that opened on August 2, 2019 and closed on February 27, 2020:

• Team Daoust: Daoust Lestage, architects, urban designers and landscape architects (Montréal); The Honourable Louise Arbour, strategic advisor (Montréal); Luca Fortin, public artist (Québec City)
• Team Hapa: Joseph Fry, landscape architect (Vancouver); Jacqueline Metz and Nancy Chew, visual artists (Vancouver)
• Team Lashley + JMA: Lashley + Associates, landscape architects (Ottawa and Montréal); John MacDonald Architect, architects (Kitchener); Sandra Dunn, visual artist (Kitchener)
• Team PFS Studio: Jennifer Nagai, landscape architect, PFS Studio (Vancouver); Nicolas Demers-Stoddart, architect, Provencher Roy (Montréal); Jonathan Villeneuve, visual artist (Montréal)
• Team Stimson: Adrian Stimson, visual artist (Siksika Nation, Alberta); Jana Joyce, landscape architect, MBTW Group, (Toronto), Graham Carr, landscape designer, MBTW Group (Toronto); Christine Leu and Alan Webb, public art coordinators, LeuWebb Projects (Toronto)

These design teams will have until spring 2021 to complete their proposals.

The design concepts will be evaluated by the same jury, made up of experts in the fields of visual arts and urban design, and representatives from key stakeholder groups, including a Veteran of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, a representative of the families of the fallen, a non-Veteran representative of the Mission in Afghanistan, and a military historian:

• Dr. Stephen Borys, Director and CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Virginia T. Burt, Landscape Architect and Principal, Virginia Burt Designs
• Master Warrant Officer Steve Chagnon, Veteran of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
• Reine Samson Dawe, representing the families of the fallen and 2019 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother
•  Arif Z. Lalani, Canada’s Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the height of Canada’s military and civilian mission
• Talbot Sweetapple, Architect and Partner, Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
• Dr. Lee Windsor, Deputy Director of The Brigadier Milton Gregg VC Centre for the Study of War and Society, University of New Brunswick

The National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan will recognize the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians who served in Afghanistan and the support provided to them at home, and will be a permanent place for Canadians to reflect on their service. The Monument will ensure that future generations have the opportunity to learn more about the Mission and Canada’s efforts in helping to rebuild Afghanistan.