A prominent Winnipeg road named after an architect of Canada’s residential school system could see a name change to something more culturally appropriate.
Winnipeg’s executive policy committee will look at a report next Monday that suggests renaming Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Abinojii Mikanah — which means “Children’s Roadway.”
Grandin Street in St. Boniface and the Bishop Grandin Trail would also be in line to receive new Cree names — Taapweewin Way and Awasisak Mēskanow — as selected by a group of Indigenous elders, residential school survivors, knowledge keepers and youth.
The streets’ namesake, Vital-Justin Grandin, was a Roman Catholic priest who died in 1902. The 2015 Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada credits Grandin with leading the campaign for residential schools.
According to a 2021 Probe Research poll, a majority of Winnipeggers said they want to see Bishop Grandin Boulevard’s name changed. The survey was conducted in light of the discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children at a former Kamloops, B.C. residential school that year.
While 55 per cent of Winnipeggers polled said they’d like to see the name changed, a further quarter of respondents said they prefer a compromise — keeping the name but educating people about Grandin’s involvement with residential schools. That’s another option on the table for councillors, who will also consider placing new historical plaques that provide context to the existing historical marker about Grandin.