Colonial Building to retain name to avoid 'white-washing' Newfoundland and Labrador's history

The Colonial Building in St. John's has a long and storied past, however in line with calls for reconciliation there has been a recent push to re-name the structure.

On Monday, however, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced that after surveying residents, the building's original name will remain for the foreseeable future.

The provincial government released a statement outlining the results of the survey, noting that it comes as part of a review being conducted to ensure public monuments "respectfully recognize and commemorate the province’s history."

According to the survey, conducted via engageNL, 69 percent of residents said they wanted to see the Colonial Building retain its name, while 26 percent said it should be changed. Of the latter group, 40 percent picked "Parliament House."

It was noted that 6 percent of respondents identified as being a member of an indigenous community. Among them, half said the name should not be changed.

The government added that only a few people raised concern that keeping the name would "continue to perpetuate harm," with the majority of responses indicating "a strong feeling that changing the name of Colonial Building may be interpreted as an effort to erase or white-wash the colonial history of Newfoundland and Labrador."

The Colonial Building, which sits in the heart of St. John's and is among the city's top tourist attractions, was designated a Provincial Historic Site in 1974. It served as the permanent seat of the provincial legislature for over 100 years beginning in 1850.

It recently underwent a substantial renovation and will reopen to the public in September.

"While recalling the establishment of Responsible Government in this province," Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation minister Lisa Dempster said, "we must remember before that, there were Indigenous Peoples who lived here under their own forms of government. Therefore, we need to intend to tell those stories and learn from them, in this newly-renovated building, to reinvigorate our democratic institutions."