Heritage Calgary takes on historical landmark names with holistic approach

A Calgary organization is working on a handbook that will pave the way to changing the names of historical landmarks.

Heritage Calgary is an organization that works with the City of Calgary to preserve and protect historical landmarks in the city.

The Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal Handbook (NRCH) project that they started provides an eight-step process that has been adapted through hundreds of consultations with diverse groups.

It’s done in a way that is holistic to all parties involved, according to Josh Traptow, CEO of Heritage Calgary.

The handbook could be used in the renaming of Sir John A. Macdonald School, which some groups have long called for.

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Statues of the first prime minister have toppled throughout Ontario and the eastern provinces due to his history with the residential school system, which saw 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children forced into government-funded, church-operated schools.

“[We are] making sure that the names of our places are reflective of all people who have contributed to Calgary, both pre- and post-settlement,” Traptow said.

“It’s only more recently that we’ve started to have those conversations about the inequity of the naming and our commemoration, and only telling white settler history, especially in Calgary.”

Landmarks named after Sir Hector-Louis Langevin have been renamed, along with Bishop Grandin School. There have been calls to rename William Aberhart School.

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The idea to create the NRCH came in 2020 after it was discovered that James Short Park, which is across the street from Chinatown, is named after a man who was against the Chinese community.

“James Short was very much an anti-Chinese individual who fought against Chinatown being in its current location,” Traptow said.

City councillor Terry Wong represents Ward 7, which encompasses Chinatown, and he is a proponent of changing the name.

The city had a petition to change the name of the park and parkade, which is on the boundary of Chinatown, because they wish “To acknowledge racial discrimination against Chinese Calgarians. It is a step towards becoming a more inclusive city.”

“The Chinese community, and Chinatown community, has recognized that this is a time for reconciliation, not a cancelling or erasure of culture or history, but a recognition that we need to move forward with positive ways to recognize the Chinese community,” Wong said.

The NRCH is now in the works of being adopted by the City of Calgary, with the hope that more jurisdictions will follow.

-With files from The Canadian Press