A Sir John A Macdonald statue in Charlottetown, P.E.I. is the latest statue to be vandalized amidst calls for statues honouring racist historical figures to be taken down across Canada.

The controversial statue of Canada's first Prime Minister was sprayed with red paint overnight Thursday.

City clean-up crews have since responded to the incident and removed the red paint from the statue.

City of @ChtownPE staffers clean off the Sir John A MacDonald statue on Victoria Row after someone had dumped some red paint on him.

The Indigenous LIVES Matter March through Charlottetown is set to take place today at 430pm.#pei pic.twitter.com/lAVK1Rrt8N

— John Morris 📸 (@jmweb) June 19, 2020

Premier Dennis King told reporters on Friday morning that he has yet to formulate an opinion on whether the statue should be removed.

"This is a difficult issue all across the country and all across the world, and I'm certainly interested in having a thorough discussion as to how we can best, as Prince Edward Island, represent the history of who we are," King said, per CBC.

However, King emphasized the importance of not trying to "sugar-coat" Canada's history.

"I think how we look and pave our way going forward requires us to have a full and honest debate, and not to be afraid about the not-so-glorious parts of our history," he said.

Settlers on Facebook are furious that old Sir Genocide MacDonald got a new makeup regime pic.twitter.com/fxrOMRp7hj

— Bryson The Gative BLM (@ArnallLabrador) June 19, 2020

Sir John A Macdonald is widely recognized as the architect of the residential school program, which separated Indigenous children from their families and caused serious harm through forced assimilation and abuse.

In 2018, the City of Victoria removed a John A Macdonald statue from outside of City Hall to mixed reactions.

Including the statue in Charlottetown, there are at least nine remaining John A Macdonald statues across Canada; the Macdonald statue in Montreal was similarly sprayed with red paint on June 14.

Statues of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, George Vancouver and "Gassy" Jack Deighton have also recently been covered in paint.

John A Macdonald statue covered in paint overnight in Montreal, the anonymous group “anti-colonial vandals” says.

The monument is akin to Confederate statues in the US, the activists say, and “stands as a symbol of colonialism and the subjugation of Indigenous peoples.” #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/3hdgy5taOQ

— Jill Kestler-DAmours (@jkdamours) June 15, 2020

The City of Charlottetown is planning a public meeting where they will discuss the future of statues in the city next Thursday.