Does Bradford West Gwillimbury need a name change? Some say yes, others say no

Some residents feel BWG is too long, others feel BWG is preservation of historical value

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 26, 2019
Aileen Zangouei

Is it time for the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury to rethink its name?

The question bubbled up after councillors in hyphenated town of Whitchurch-Stouffville decided their municipality might need to refresh its corporate identity to stay relevant in the competitive world of attracting new businesses, residents and tourists.

In a report, town staff said from a branding perspective, municipalities with a shorter names present less confusion to the public. To that end, it's is contemplating shortening the name to Stouffville.

The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, a name with 23 letters, seven syllables, six vowels, is considered by some residents to be way too long.

Other residents, however, argue Bradford West Gwillimbury, a name that came following the amalgamation of two towns in 1991, is rich in history.

David Chambers, 82, of Bond Head, a longtime resident and proud owner of a heritage home, is passionately opposed to BWG ever changing its name.

“We should identify, preserve and promote our heritage, and celebrating our name is the first step in doing so,” Chambers said, adding that a name change would be, “the first step in ignoring our first pioneers and all the efforts and the horrific hardships they endured risking all to come to the new land.”

“West Gwillimbury is much more significant geographically than Bradford and is the first settlement area in Simcoe County,” Chambers said.

“We have to preserve Bradford West Gwillimbury not just for us, but for Ontario,” Chambers said.

Joe Giordano, 40, recently moved to BWG since it had the urban setting he was looking for.

Giordano works for a global marketing company, and teaches advertising and graphics at Humber College. He says the current moniker has to go.

Prior to moving to Bradford, Giordano had thought the town’s name was “just Bradford”.

Having learned the town’s name is actually Bradford West Gwillimbury, Giordano said it was just “brutal.”

Giordano said the word Bradford is a very “clean” word, and would “look really nice”.

He added Bradford could be well represented and bring more business to the area.

“BWG is a very unattractive logo,” Giordano said, adding that he doesn’t like acronyms.

“I’ve never liked acronyms because no one other than those who know, actually knows what it means,” Giordano said.

“Do you know MSA? That means Markham Surrounding Area, but that acronym can mean a lot things.”

“When you brand a city, make it attractive. It grows business, grows the economy,” Giordano said, adding that, “BWG doesn’t have the same cachet or attractiveness as other areas.”

“BWG is just not proper for a city that is growing,” Giordano said.

Yusuf Sham agrees.

The 37-year-old has lived in Bradford for three years after moving from the Toronto area, and said he doesn’t know anyone that uses the full name because it is “too long” and doesn't come up in conversation.

“I think to facilitate business and market our town, we need our town’s name to be easily pronounced,” Sham said.

“If the official name is shortened to Bradford, then everyone will by default be using the proper name of the town,” Sham said.

One resident suggested anyone who hasn’t lived in Bradford for 20-plus shouldn’t get a say, but Sham completely disagrees.

“We all contribute and pay our taxes, the town has been growing due to the influx of people moving here from other parts of the province like Toronto. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and living here for an x number of years doesn’t automatically make you a gold star citizen,” Sham said.

“I am proud to have made this town our home and love being part of the community, although I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Sham said.

Laura Martin, 59, has lived in BWG since 1989, and said everyone just calls the town Bradford, but changing its official name would cause the town to “lose its identity”.

“If the West Gwillimbury is dropped, then our town mascot Gwilly would possibly lose its identity, which is also the mascot for the Carrot Festival,” Martin said.

“BWG will always be BWG to the people who have lived here all their lives,” Martin said.

In 2018. the town announced its Economic Development Marketing Strategy plan, which included the town’s goal to raise awareness for BWG, and to ensure targets are familiar with BWG and confer it as a location for future business investment.

This meant the town will market itself using the new BWG graphic identifier with the tag line: “Build. Work. Grow.” According to the EDMS plan, the words in the tag line are descriptive and illustrative of the actions that are currently reflective of BWG.

Bradford West Gwillimbury is here to stay.

“Some towns have short names and some longer. We can be different because we have a longer one, this sets us apart,” Chambers said, asking, “Why must we conform?”

“To lose our name is a loss of our history and an insult to the first pioneers of Simcoe county,” Chambers said.