Historians Urge Toronto Board to Reconsider Renaming Macdonald, Dundas, Ryerson Schools

A statue of former Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 3, 2021. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

A group of historians is urging the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) to reconsider name changes to schools that carry the names of Sir John A. Macdonald, Henry Dundas, and Egerton Ryerson, calling the recent trend of renaming buildings and roads and removing statues of historical figures across Canada “ill-considered.”

“We believe the recent epidemic of historic statue removal and renaming of roads, buildings, and institutions to be on the whole ill-considered and driven more by popular opinion and prejudice than by thorough research and analysis,” the Canadian Institute for Historical Education (CIHE) said in a Feb. 6 letter.

A recommendation to rename Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute, Dundas Junior Public School, and Ryerson Community School came in a Jan. 27 staff report that said it was considering the “potential impact” on students and staff of names linked to “colonial history, anti-indigenous racism and their connection to systems of oppression.”

In their response to the board, the historians argued that the staff report failed to specify what adverse “potential impact” might result. They also criticized the report for relying on decisions and declarations made elsewhere on “flimsy” grounds and urged the TDSB chair and trustees to “stop it in its tracks.”

The institute said the report was attempting to push the TDSB into following the trend of other Canadian institutions in removing names on questionable grounds.

The Epoch Times contacted the TDSB for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

‘Unfounded Accusations’

Canada has seen a wave of efforts to remove symbols of historical figures in recent years, including the renaming of Toronto’s Ryerson University and Dundas Street and the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa.

Some of the efforts were marked by the removal or vandalizing of statues, such as a Macdonald statue in Montreal toppled in August 2020 and a Ryerson statue that was defaced and beheaded at the university named for him. Defenders of the attacks accuse the figures of playing a role in Canada’s residential school system.

The head of a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald is shown torn down following a protest in Montreal, on Aug. 29, 2020. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

The CIHE said efforts to assign blame to historical leaders are often based on “unfounded accusations” that overlook their contributions to human rights and the abolition of slavery. Macdonald, the first prime minister, was responsible for shaping Canada into a nation, “and thwarting the very real threat of American annexation in the bargain.”

Noting Macdonald’s support for indigenous rights and the right to vote, the historians said it is “particularly odd that a School Board report that reflects disapproval of colonialism attacks the very individual who, more than any one person in the history of the country, brought colonial rule to an end in Canada.”

The CIHE credited Henry Dundas for his role as an abolitionist and ally of British politician William Wilberforce in the fight against slavery. Additionally, as colonial secretary, Dundas appointed John Graves Simcoe as governor of Upper Canada, which became the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to abolish slavery.

Regarding Egerton Ryerson, the CIHE said the 19th-century Methodist minister has been “falsely accused” of being the “architect” of the residential school system, noting the schools predated his birth and the system was established long after his time. Instead, the CIHE highlighted Ryerson’s contributions as the founder of public libraries and public education in Upper Canada, as well as his collaboration with indigenous leaders to establish industrial schools.

A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on June 6, 2021. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Toronto Metropolitan University professor Patrice Dutil said in a statement to The Epoch Times the 2021 decision to rebrand the school from Ryerson University “was done for the wrong reasons,” adding that “most people don’t care about renaming the university” in Toronto.

“The removal of statues and the renaming of schools, buildings and streets is the most visible aspect of a woke mentality because these gestures are done for the wrong reasons,” said Dutil, a contributor to the CIHE. “Such decisions should be made by qualified people who know how to examine the evidence. Instead, a few low-level officials take advantage of the historical illiteracy of Canadians.”