In 1810, in the course of his investigation into a rape case in which the victim stated she did not know her assailant's identity but had managed to scratch his penis, Wood personally inspected the genitals of multiple male suspects.

The circumstances of the investigation led to accusations of impropriety and rumours of homosexual activity, though formal charges were not pursued against Wood on the condition that he return to Scotland.

[4] The artist modelled Wood's clothing on fashions typical of a dandy, citing the bow tie, ponytail, and flower lapel visible in these portraits.

[7] The statue took roughly six months to receive approvals from the city, which Newbigging regarded as an unusually short amount of time.

[6] The unveiling was celebrated with a parade of bagpipers, a performing colour guard, and representatives from the LGBT groups Supporting Our Youth and the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps.

The letter criticized Wood's status as a founding member and treasurer of The Society for Converting and Civilizing the Indians and Propagating the Gospel Among Destitute Settlers in Upper Canada, a group that raised funds for mission schools.

Its lifelike, intricate detail stands apart from the more freeform modern pieces that dot our city’s landscape, leaving no question that it was sculpted at the height of [Newbigging's] artistic powers.

"[5] Kristyn Wong-Tam, who was a member of the CWVBIA when the statue was originally commissioned, praised Newbigging's "meticulous planning and confident execution of Canada's only monument to a gay pioneer" that "will forever stand proudly over the Church and Wellesley Village".

[7] Steven Maynard, a historian at Queen's University, supported the removal, stating that "we pretty much always knew the Alexander Wood story, hence the reason why some of us, myself included, objected to [the statue's creation] in the first place.