Toronto needs more money to rename Yonge-Dundas Square
Mayor Chow says additional funds will come from corporate donors
Mayor Olivia Chow and her allies will dig into the estimated cost to rename Yonge-Dundas Square, as the agency that runs the landmark public space is warning of a half million dollar funding gap on the project.
The mayor will meet with her executive committee Tuesday to deal the renaming of the space to Sankofa Square.
The city has set aside $335,000 for the controversial rebranding, but the Yonge-Dundas Square Board of Management has warned that it could cost as much as $860,000, including a full education campaign and celebration to relaunch the space with its new name in August.
The meeting Tuesday will give councillors a chance to discuss a series of options for the rebranding and the public an opportunity to provide feedback.
Mayor Chow has said she is optimistic in-kind support and corporate donations can help fill the funding void.
"Remember, the square is filled with advertising," she said. "Through advertising and partnerships, we'd be able to get the financing instead of it coming from the tax base, the property tax base."
Council voted in December to change the name of the space to Sankofa Square and recommended a host of other landmarks be stripped of the Dundas name over Henry Dundas' connections to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The word Sankofa originates in Ghana and refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past, enabling us to move forward together.
The rebranding work has already begun, and all signage identifying it as Yonge-Dundas Square was recently removed from the space.
Coun. Chris Moise, who represents Ward 13, Toronto-Centre, spearheaded the renaming. The square is overdue for a "refresh" which the city agency should be able to fund itself, he said.
The rebranding will help the city's Black community feel seen, Moise said.
"We don't anticipate this will cost taxpayers any money in the rebranding," he said. "People pay to use the square … and there's a fee for that. So, it's cost recovery. I don't believe that it will cost the city anything at the end of the day."
But critics have said the city has rushed the renaming, and there wasn't enough consultation ahead of the December vote.
Moise disagrees, saying the renaming has been in the works for years.
"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.
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.
Holyday said he made the formal request because the public has a right to know how much is being spent on the rebranding. He's sceptical about claims it isn't using taxpayer-funding, he said.
"Well, everything costs taxpayers," he said. "Whether it's the staff time devoted to this type of work, or the change process, or the last opportunity that sponsorships can provide. Instead of going towards programming in the square. Now it has to go to the nuts and bolts of a new sign."
The city's tentative plan is to officially change the square's name on August 1, which is known internationally as Emancipation Day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Muriel Draaisma