Gordon Lightfoot Square? Calls to rename Toronto landmark

Globalnews.ca
May 9, 2023
Isaac Callan

As Canada continues to mourn the passing of music legend Gordon Lightfoot, a fledgling campaign to rename one of Toronto’s biggest landmarks after the man is underway.

A local restauranteur, Arron Barberian, is behind a push to see Yonge-Dundas Square in the heart of Toronto lose its name to be replaced with that of Gordon Lightfoot.

“A statue is a wonderful thing, but it needs a place to be,” Barberian said, referencing plans afoot at Toronto City Hall to commemorate the musician.

Lightfoot died at a Toronto hospital on May 1.

An iconic figure in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Lightfoot wrote many songs that transcended borders and music tastes, including “The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald”, “Ribbon of Darkness” and “If You Could Read My Mind”, among many many others.

“When Gordon passed away last week, it really came to me -- it was a lightbulb moment: this is the time to finally rename the square,” Barberian said.

“And who better than Gordon Lightfoot?”

Although the campaign is in its early stages, Barberian said he had struggled to find anyone who did not agree renaming the square would be the perfect tribute.

He referenced Lightfoot’s performances at Toronto’s Massey Hall and support of the area as key reasons to go ahead with the change

“He performed on all the stages at all the little pubs and clubs in the neighbourhood ... it all happened within a block of Yonge-Dundas Square,” he said.

Yonge-Dundas Square looks likely to be renamed in some form in the future, as the City of Toronto pushes ahead with a plan to remove the name of Henry Dundas from its streets.

Council voted 17-7 in favour of removing Dundas’ name from the street as well as other civic assets such as Yonge-Dundas Square and Dundas subway station in 2021.

A committee will be tasked to come up with a new name by the second quarter of 2022 with input from the public.

Dundas Street, which runs through Toronto and several other southern Ontario cities, was named after Henry Dundas, an 18th-century politician who delayed Britain’s abolition of slavery by 15 years.

The report also highlighted “Dundas’ role in the continued subjugation of Indigenous peoples in Canada in his capacity as British Home Secretary,” the city previously said.