In response to the petition, a working group of staff was formed, including the City’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit and the Indigenous Affairs Office, to examine the issue. The City Manager delivered a report 
to the Executive Committee meeting on September 23, 2020 that assessed four options for responding to the petition:
Following discovery sessions with Black, Indigenous and other local community members, extensive academic research and a review of over 400 global case studies, City Council voted to rename Dundas Street and other civic properties with the Dundas name in July 2021. The decision furthered the City’s commitment to confronting anti-Black racism, advancing truth, reconciliation and justice, and building a more inclusive and equitable Toronto. Council also directed the City Manager to convene a Recognition Review Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The 20-member CAC was formed in fall 2021 and was made up of Black and Indigenous leaders, along with other diverse residents and business owners living and working along Dundas Street. The Committee was tasked with:
Following two years of consultation, research and discussion, the CAC reached consensus on the name “Sankofa Square” for Yonge-Dundas Square. In December 2023, City Council approved “Sankofa Square” as the new name for Yonge-Dundas Square and initiated plans to rename three other City assets that included the name Dundas (Dundas and Dundas West subway stations and the Jane/Dundas Public Library). The City will consider next steps to rename these assets in 2024. At the same time, Council adopted the recommendation to undertake a public education campaign, which will launch in 2024 and extend into 2025, that will focus on acknowledging the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery. Council also directed the City Manager to pause work on the remaining recommendations from the July 2021 decision, including the renaming of Dundas Street, until Council provides direction to resume.
The concept of Sankofa, originating in Ghana, refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past, which enables people to move forward together. Sankofa is most often reproduced as an image of a bird, with its body and feet facing forward, looking backwards to collect an egg from its own back, or holding an egg in its mouth. It is a symbol of survival, reclamation and remembrance, created by unknown artists, talented people who were living through a human disaster of unprecedented scale.
The name Sankofa is the result of two years of careful work by the Recognition Review Community Advisory Committee, whose conversations were informed by consultations with the public. This name was suggested by representatives of the Black community who served on the committee, and of the many names considered, Sankofa emerged as the consensus choice.
In the 18th century, the Akan-speaking region of West Africa, notably associated with present-day Ghana, faced severe consequences from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The British Royal African Company, a slave trading company established in 1660, targeted the people of ‘The Gold Coast’ for enslavement and transportation to the Americas. For the overwhelming majority of Akan-speaking peoples, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a demographic catastrophe that resulted in political destabilization, economic upheaval, warfare, population loss and widespread displacement. Amid this crisis, artists and craftspeople from this region created a new form of printed art, called Adinkra symbols, that were meant to be reproduced on items of everyday use such as fabrics and pottery. These symbols represented powerful aphorisms, including the principle of Sankofa, which means ‘look back to move forward’. Many of these principles and symbols, including Sankofa, have survived as artistic symbols and key philosophical concepts in the memory of both the peoples of this region and the descendants of the victims of human trafficking who came from this region of the African continent.
This powerful concept encapsulates the need for all members of our community to come together to reflect and learn from the loss and tragedy of the histories of Black enslavement. It also celebrates histories of survival and community and expresses the joy which we hope future generations of people will experience when they gather together in this central landmark of Canada’s largest city.
City staff have reviewed published peer-reviewed academic research prepared by professional historians on Henry Dundas to understand his legacy and how it may impact Black and Indigenous communities in Toronto. Staff have also consulted with more than 20 academic experts knowledgeable in the areas of public history, Black Canadian studies and public commemoration to inform the response to the petition and the Recognition Review project as a whole. As an educational resource for the public, staff have partnered with the Toronto Public Library to publish a reading list on Henry Dundas’ life and legacy, the history of Dundas Street and the contemporary Black experience in Canada.
In 1792, independent Member of Parliament William Wilberforce brought a resolution before the British House of Commons to immediately abolish the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. This proposal followed growing support for abolition among the British public, with a then-record 500 petitions being submitted to the House in support of Wilberforce’s resolution. During the parliamentary debate, Dundas proposed an amendment qualifying support for the resolution by adding the word “gradually,” so that it read that the slave trade “ought gradually to be abolished.” In his speech to parliament, Dundas explained that while he had “long entertained the same opinion … as to the abolition of the slave trade,” he “must consider how far it may be proper for [him] to give [his] assent” to the resolution. He went on to describe how “this trade must ultimately be abolished, but by moderate measures which shall not invade the property of individuals, nor shock too suddenly the prejudices of our West India Islands.” Though Dundas’ amendment was adopted and a date for abolition was proposed for 1796, the resolution was never enacted by the House of Lords.
In the years that followed, Dundas argued against other proposals for abolition, stating that abolition was not practical while Britain was at war with France. These arguments prioritized economic and military interests over human lives.
Whatever Dundas’ motivations may have been, the consequences of delaying the abolition of the slave trade are clear. Whether Dundas is viewed cynically or as a pragmatist, his actions and those of the British government he served contributed to the perpetuation of the enslavement of human beings. It would be 1807 before the Slave Trade Act was finally passed. From 1792-1807, more than half a million Africans were enslaved and trafficked across the Atlantic, many to British colonies.
Read more on historical research on the legacy of Henry Dundas.
The Dundas renaming petition is one of many global efforts currently underway to confront anti-Black racism and discrimination against other communities. While preparing the report that went to Council in September of 2020, City staff sought to identify best practices by researching how other jurisdictions around the world were responding to proposals to rename streets and facilities, and request to remove monuments.
As of May 31, 2021, 430 case studies from 2017 to 2020 have been identified, drawn from Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Spain and Australia. Key findings, with Canadian cities highlighted in brackets, are summarized below.
Read more on global case studies.