On the heels of the 2026 Ontario municipal elections, SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne says that it’s not too late to rename Toronto’s Sankofa Square.
“What our leaders need to do is go back to the drawing board and allow residents to choose a name for the square that they can be proud of.” -Kevin Bourne
The dust has settled on the Toronto municipal election with the incumbent Olivia Chow re-elected as mayor of the City of Toronto. Going into the election, I admittedly wasn’t sold on Brad Bradford. Chow, who aside from her social policies is likeable and doesn’t mind putting on a costume and moving her waist at Caribana, felt safe. That’s the power of the incumbent–people know what they’re going to get. But in comparing the two leading candidates’ platforms, Bradford seemed to have more ideas on how to improve the city, especially in the area of policing and transit, while Chow had a vision for improving people lives directly through social programs. They were two completely different candidates.
Improving Sankofa Square
One area where Bradford got my attention was in his proposed changes to Sankofa Square. Despite his election night loss, Bradford’s proposal to add a police substation to the square in order to keep the area safe should be revisited. While statistics prove that crime is down in the city, if you’ve been to the former Yonge-Dundas Square and the surrounding area, you’ll know that there’s still decent amount of crime and mental illness. Keeping the area safe would go a long way in giving people the confidence to make the trip downtown. or to make it a must-see when their family and friends visit from out of town.
Bradford also pledged to fill the square with year-round activities relating to commerce, culture, food, retail and live performances. The square already boasts a decent schedule of cultural events, but it’s far from a bustling year-round event venue, especially as the city’s main downtown gathering space.
But Bradford’s final proposal is one that needs visiting as soon as possible–the renaming of Sankofa Square. It feels gross even writing it. Social media platforms are full of comments with Torontonians expressing their disdain for the name or outright refusal to use it, and I don’t blame them.
Renaming Dundas
The new name was initially announced on December 14, 2023 when a motion was passed by City Council. It came after increased scrutiny around Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville‘s relationship to slavery. Some see him as a British Member of Parliament who stood in the way of the abolition of the slave trade, while others see him as someone who supported the abolition of the slave trade but through a gradual approach believing that an immediate abolition would only take the slave trade underground. Either way, over the years, Dundas was known less for the controversial British MP and more as the name of a street that Torontonians have grown to love. And as a member of the Black community, I didn’t know one Black person who actually had an issue with the name Dundas and his questionable legacy on slavery. Not one. It had no impact whatsoever on our daily lives.
And when were the public consultations on the name change? I, for one, had no idea they were going on.
“The name change felt more like the kind of thing white people do to make themselves feel better about themselves, or to feel like they’re allies, instead of bringing forward actual meaningful change for the Black community.” -Kevin Bourne
But even if a vast majority of Torontonians were in favour of a name change (which wasn’t the case), the question is whether “Sankofa” was the best name for Canada’s answer to New York’s Times Square or London’s Piccadilly Circus. The answer is a resounding, “No”. The name change felt more like the kind of thing white people do to make themselves feel better about themselves, or to feel like they’re allies, instead of bringing forward actual meaningful change for the Black community.
What’s in a name?
I once drew the ire of a few of my fellow Black people for calling it a “stupid name” in a social media comment (I was having a bad day and was annoyed). I was accused of coonery of the highest order. How dare a Black man question a Ghanaian word being used to name our downtown square? It’s not that the word itself is stupid. An Akan (Ghanaian) word that means reflecting and reclaiming knowledge is beautiful, especially in light of Ghana being a port city in the slave trade. But civic spaces should have names that inspire a sense of local identity and pride. That name doesn’t do that, especially for the wider community.
And as someone who has been in the branding business for many years, it lacks the branding and marketability to make it a household name around the world; a must-see destination. “Sankofa Square” is a name that many locals whisper with a sense of embarrassment, like as if your parents called you Virgil but you’d rather go by your cooler middle name (there’s a reason why Drake’s rapper name isn’t Aubrey).
“Civic spaces should have names that inspire a sense of local identity and pride. ” -Kevin Bourne
The subsequent renaming of Dundas Station on the TTC subway line to TMU Station, which it doesn’t actually connect to, is equally puzzling. Why not Eaton Centre Station or Eaton Centre North Station?
Now, was Brad Bradford’s proposed “Toronto Square” any better? It was a slight improvement from “Sankofa Square”, but still needed some work. What our leaders need to do is go back to the drawing board and allow residents to choose a name for the square that they can be proud of, because one thing is for sure—Sankofa Square ain’t it.
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