The board that manages Yonge-Dundas Square is warning that renaming the marquee public space in downtown Toronto could cost roughly $500,000 more than the amount that’s currently funded by the city.
The city has budgeted $335,000 for the renaming, but the Yonge-Dundas Square Board of Management now says it could cost up to $860,000, depending on which implementation plan is chosen, according to minutes from the board’s May 15 meeting.
Council voted in December to change the name of the square to Sankofa Square and recommended a host of other landmarks be stripped of the Dundas name over Henry Dundas’ perceived connections to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The word Sankofa, which originates in Ghana, refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past.
The board says the work to rename the square is already underway. A report on the renaming will be considered by city council’s executive committee at its June 18 meeting.
Julian Sleath, general manager of Yonge-Dundas Square, said on Tuesday THAT the board hopes to pull together the funds to enable a “more fulsome” program of education, celebration and support to festivals that take place on the square.
He said the city has budgeted only for changing the signs and the board hopes to fill the gap in funding with help from business and resident partners.
“We are actually in this journey, as a board and staff team, deeply committed to making this more than just a simple, straightforward change of name, Sleath said.
“We really wish to encompass and embrace the philosophy, the intent of the word Sankofa.”
According to city budget notes, the city’s 2024 capital budget for the square includes $105,000 for new signage and $230,000 for marketing, communication and rebranding.
Additional costs above the $335,000 budgeted by the city “will be funded directly by the Square through third-party financial partners and in-kind support,” city manager Paul Johnson wrote in a letter responding to formal questions from Coun. Stephen Holyday, who represents Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre.
“If this funding is not available, the Board will scale back initiatives related to renaming to align with available funds,” Johnson wrote.
Funding won’t come from property tax base, mayor says
Mayor Olivia Chow said Tuesday she’s confident that companies that are tenants around the busy square will want to contribute. Chow said the city has an opportunity to make changes to the square through the renaming process.
“Remember, the square is filled with advertising. Through advertising and partnerships, we’d be able to get the financing instead of it coming from the tax base, the property tax base,” Chow said.
Toronto city council voted Thursday to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square in 2024. The new name originates in Ghana and means “reclaiming past teachings that enable us to move forward together,” Here’s what some people said about the change.
One councillor says he thinks the funds will be found through money collected by the board from events in the square, while another councillor said he thinks the city should pause the entire project.
Ward 13 Coun. Chris Moise, who represents Toronto-Centre and spearheaded the renaming, said it will help the city’s Black community feel seen. He said he disagrees with those who think there wasn’t enough consultation.
“Again, we had more conversations about this than we had on the renaming of Rob Ford Stadium. I find that when it comes to Black and Indigenous renamings and things that are around our community, there’s pushback,” Moise said.
Moise said the rebranding shouldn’t cost the city more than what’s already been budgeted, and that the square needs refreshing.
Council should hit pause on project, councillor says
But Councillor Brad Bradford, who represents Ward 19, Beaches-East York, said he’s concerned costs could escalate further.
“I think we should pause the whole thing altogether. Because whether it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars, the point is, we are financially strapped,” Bradford said.
“The city is broke and this is something the vast majority of Torontonians weren’t asking for.”
The change is part of an ongoing effort by the city to rename public assets bearing the name of Dundas, a Scottish politician active from the 1770s to the early 1800s, when the British Parliament was debating slavery abolition motions.
Dundas introduced a motion to stall abolition, but there has been some debate about his intentions. While he has been criticized as attempting to prolong slavery, one descendent of Dundas, Bobby Dundas, has argued he was trying to be strategic with his “gradual abolition” motion.