Toronto school board considers renaming Queen Victoria Public School due to 'racist legacy'

Canada's largest school board's Planning and Priorities Committee is looking at changing the name of the Queen Victoria Public School, due to the Queen's "racist legacy."

A request submitted by the committee says that the school council's Black Student Success Committee is expressing interest in beginning the process of "changing the school name."

"Under our current policies, a request of this nature can be initiated from a school or local community,” the request states, according to True North.

"The response from School Council has been excitement at the possibility of being able to engage in the school renaming process. The desire to have a new name is representative of a ‘fresh start’ for the school community amongst a range of other positive changes."

The school is one of many being considered for potential name change, in accordance with the April 21 "Renaming Schools Celebrating the Diversity of Toronto" motion, which notes that there are not enough schools named after Indigenous or Black Leaders of colour, stating that  “some schools names do not reflect the values of contemporary Toronto” and that “some schools are named after people with a racist legacy.”

The school is the latest in many areas around Toronto being considered for renaming due to racist pasts. These include Dundas Street, and even the city of Vaughn, Ontario, which is a part of the Greater Toronto Area.

The school has been named after Queen Victoria since 1887.