Effort afoot to bring Stompin’ Tom statue to Saint John

Canadian music legend Stompin` Tom Connors receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual SOCAN Awards gala in Toronto on Monday, November 23, 2009. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)

An effort is now afoot to bring a Canadian music legend back in his old stompin’ grounds.

With his cowboy hat, trademark kick, and catalogue of hits like ‘Bud the Spud’ and ‘The Hockey Song,’ nobody ever looked or sounded like Stompin’ Tom Connors.

Born in Saint John, N.B., on Feb. 9, 1936, Charles Thomas Connors survived a childhood of extreme poverty to emerge as a performer who sold millions of records about Canadian pride.

“He really represents the human spirit, when things are difficult to be able to overcome incredible obstacles to inject this sort of pride and spirit throughout our entire country,” says Jason MacLean, who is part of an effort to bring a statue to Saint John.

Saint John-based Hemmings House Pictures is leading the statue proposal. Saint John city council gave unanimous support on Monday night for the city’s civic commemoration standing committee to move forward with making it happen.

Stompin’ Tom Connors Day is officially recognized in Saint John the second Saturday in August, and his mural is included on a wall of famous port city residents just off Charlotte Street.

In 2015, a statue of Connors was erected in Sudbury, Ont. (‘Sudbury Saturday Night’), two years after Connors passed away.

“It’s time for Saint John to stand up and say, ‘this is our son,’” says Mike Bravener, a member of the proposal group. “We want to honour Tom, his dear wife Lena. We want to show honour and respect to her and the family.”

“He’s a Saint John boy, and I think it’s really important for Saint John to say, ‘he’s ours.’”

The civic commemoration committee will choose where the statue will be placed. The proposal group is hoping it will be located somewhere in the city’s uptown, such as Kings Square or the waterfront.

“Somewhere close to where tourists will be able to see it, and also where locals will be able to see it on a daily basis,” says MacLean.

Fundraising will soon begin for the project, with a goal of having the statue up by the end of the year. Costs for the statue are estimated between $150,000 and $200.000.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.