Calgary students reignite calls to rename Sir John A. Macdonald School

The movement to rename Sir John A. Macdonald School in Calgary has been reignited, this time by a grade 8 student.

Makena Halvorson says it’s long overdue for a name change, and there’s no time like the present.

“It’s kind of sad, but they should have done it like a long time ago but now is the best chance because what’s better than the present?” said Halvorson.

Halvorson started the initiative. Her group is raising funds, and letters have been sent to the CBE regarding the name change.

WATCH: CityNews’ Taylor Braat reports on students renewing calls to rename Sir John A. Macdonald School.

In 2017 the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario called for the renaming of all schools in Canada named after Macdonald, but the name remained.

“I feel like it’s a sense of neglect,” said Emmanuel Omodera, another grade 8 student from the school. “Pushing it under the rug, but like I said, it’s good that people like Makena are changing the norm.”

John A. Macdonald played a foundational role in creating and running residential schools, and he was celebrated for building the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Halvorson says the idea came from a grade 7 assignment where she learned that beneath all of his milestones, are hidden indignities.

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“Around 600 Chinese immigrants were killed in harsh conditions while building the railway and it was built on broken indigenous treaty land and Indigenous people were forced to go to residential schools,” she said.

She says the shame from the former prime minister’s legacy should not be carried by the students who go to the school, and there’s been lots of support from them for the name change.

“I know this will definitely make a good change for students at our school.”

There have been calls in the past to rename the junior and senior high school. Halvorson hopes in light of the gravesite findings, this push will be the last.

“Because our school is an amazing school and we want to show that not by using the name Sir John A. Macdonald.”