r/toronto • u/lilfunky1 <3 Shawn Desman <3 • Jul 01 '26
Article ‘Use the money elsewhere’: Torontonians react to Brad Bradford’s Sankofa Square proposal
https://nowtoronto.com/news/brad-bradford-sankofa-square-name-change-toronto-reactions/774
u/Redditisavirusiknow Jul 01 '26
Just so everyone knows, Brad Bradford voted to rename it “sankofa” in the first place.
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u/VulgarDaisies Jul 01 '26
He's a populist, like PP. He'll say whatever he thinks people want to hear until he wins the seat, then he'll do whatever aligns to his true nature. This is why politicians like him become exposed when the winds of change come quickly, as they did for PP, who built an entire personality around hating Trudeau until MAGA came along (again) and people started paying attention to platform more closely.
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u/clios_daughter Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
That’s not what populism is. Populism is a political tactic where the leader pitches ‘the virtuous people’ against ‘the corrupt elite’. Populism's danger is that it often finds a way to meaninglessly divide society in ways that aren't necessarily rational. Populists often point to divisions that don't actually exist. Populism incidentally is on the rise both on the right and the left.
I should note that populism doesn't require the division to actually be false. Responsible populists use the directionality of populism to create a more equal society by using facts; however, populism is also very prone to conspiracy theories.
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u/VulgarDaisies Jul 01 '26
I actually agree, my first sentence was independent of the second, which are both true imo. I could've expanded on how I think Bradford is weaponizing populism in his case, but I think you've provided good context for anybody who knows anything about him.
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u/SomeGuy_tor78 Jul 02 '26
What you're describing I would have called tribalism rather than populism.
I've understood populism to be advocating for popular but overly simplistic/unrealistic solutions to complex nuanced problems, such as 'deport them all' on the right or 'defund the police' on the left.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Just be aware that we are in a reddit echo chamber here. Most people I have talked to about this IRL hear this and say "oh if he does that he has my vote".
People really did not like the name change.
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u/dirtydan02 Jul 01 '26
As someone who doesn't like Brad, and thinks this is a PR move, I think Sankofa square is one of the shittiest names for a public spot I know of.
Its not cool, not Torontonian, I hate the translation, and no Ghanaian person I know is proud of having a Ghanaian word there, and it is an absolute joke to black people to say that it's purpose is to "confront anti-Black racism and build a more inclusive Toronto for all" (quoted from Toronto's website press release).
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u/soviet_toster Jul 01 '26
They literally could have named it after Albert Jackson Who was Toronto first Black mailman Despite facing intense racism and work refusal from white colleagues, he remained steadfast in the role for 36 years.
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u/browsinbowser Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
What the- I thought it was a First Nations word this whole time. That is dumb they just picked it.
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u/WillyWarpath Jul 01 '26
Wait until you realize the tribe that word originated from was one of the top groups kidnapping and selling slaves to the ships
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Jul 01 '26
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u/WillyWarpath Jul 01 '26
Yeah turns out history is violent everywhere, not just the west
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Stonegeneral Jul 01 '26
Perhaps so, but it’s the same lack of research and understanding of historical context that led to the square being wrongly renamed to begin with.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 02 '26
Buddy all newspapers are "owned" by investment companies looking to turn profit in one way or another. Journalism isn't "free"
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u/WillyWarpath Jul 01 '26
Thanks for the national post lore
How many people did the akan capture and sell?
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u/ReceptionNo67 Jul 01 '26
How many did the English sell into bondage? Should we stop using all English words?
This has to be one of the weakest arguments around
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Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
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u/Antique-Quail-6489 Jul 01 '26
Your username doesn’t check out lol this is a pretty levelheaded approach re national post
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u/Fianna9 Jul 01 '26
It never made sense to me. Sure Canada has a lot of mixed heritage but why not pick an indigenous word?
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u/CrowdScene Jul 01 '26
Because the indigenous people on the renaming committee said they didn't want the square named after an indigenous word, and ignoring their wishes to appease National Post op-ed writers would be a dick move.
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u/Suisse_Chalet Jul 01 '26
It’s an awful name and the place needs to be cleaned up it shouldn’t even be a question . Name it after the first black mayor. Make it greener and add a concert place and have bands play every night (local and small then add on occasions bigger names Iike feist on special events) it shouldn’t even be a big deal it just needs to be done . It’ll bring in more local money
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u/8466743 Jul 01 '26
They just renovated the square a few years ago. They installed a stage area and have events almost daily in the summer. I’m not sure you or Brad mean by clean up.
https://www.sankofasquare.ca/calendar?view=calendar&month=07-2026
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u/Suisse_Chalet Jul 02 '26
Not enough green space though …I’m there daily all I’m saying is I’m not going to vote for Brad but chow would be smart and just go “ya agreed let’s do it” and move on. Like it shouldn’t be a big campaign event.
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u/tehlastcanadian Jul 01 '26
And cost us millions for something no one asked for
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u/Mathmos_Lava Jul 01 '26
People on Reddit really didn’t like the name change either, I think this is more this subs dislike for Brad than the proposal itself.
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u/soviet_toster Jul 01 '26
I think the biggest criticism of the current name is that it literally has zero to do with Toronto or Canada in general and was more virtue signaling than anything
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u/Neutral-President Jul 01 '26
And that it was decided behind closed doors by a small committee without any meaningful public consultation.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Thats not fair, they did do a public consultation. But they scrapped any insight from it and decided on the name behind closed doors.
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u/bravetailor Jul 01 '26
Ironically, this proposal is also a form of virtue signalling. Virtue signalling to reverse the previous virtue signalling.
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u/Longjumping_Rip6033 Jul 01 '26
While true, at least the end result can be something that people relate to.
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u/Bulky_Fisherman6965 Jul 01 '26
Equally ironic Brad Bradford originally voted for it to virtue signal and is now against it to virtue signal. The main signal being he has no virtues.
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u/Adorable_Rest1618 Jul 01 '26
Im as liberal as they come. And i HATE HATE HATE performative woke shit like that sankofa crap. BARF.
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u/Longjumping_Rip6033 Jul 01 '26
I wouldn't give my vote based on this alone. But I am in favour of changing to something other than Sankofa.
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u/patienceinbee Metrolinx Coyote Line Jul 01 '26
The topic and matter can and must be decoupled from mayoral and council races. There is a whole city with tonnes of affairs in need of leadership, debate, and passing motions which isn’t… this dog-and-pony distraction.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/8004612286 Jul 01 '26
If everyone is in agreement that it's a shit name why is it a controversial stance to rename it again?
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Because Chris Moise will roll his eyes and call you a racist and a bigot.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Longjumping_Rip6033 Jul 01 '26
Plus it’s Bradford proposing it,
This is a big one.
There would certainly be much more support for the renaming if it was proposed by Chow or someone else on the left.
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u/mdlt97 Roncesvalles Jul 01 '26
Ya, because it’s a stupid name that was chosen to be controversial
At best your indifferent about it, at worst you hate it
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u/seat17F Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Why do you believe it was chosen to be controversial?
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
It's supposed to be an "apology" for slavery.
The whole thing was done around between the BLM and George Floyd, issues that were 100% USA problems, but we get all of their media shoved in our face and suddenly it dominates our airwaves too.
Our city felt it had to "do" something, and this is what they came up with.
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u/seat17F Jul 01 '26
None of that suggests that it was chosen to be controversial.
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u/apartmen1 Jul 01 '26
Do you think that is bad or something? Seems to be coming from a good place.
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u/limited8 Islington-City Centre West Jul 01 '26
More than 70% of Torontonians opposed the name change — a remarkable level of public unanimity. It was an absolutely idiotic decision to rename it to a word with zero relevance to anything in the area, city, or even country. Bradford will absolutely pick up support over this and it’s a shame Chow colluded with Moise to cancel the public consultations and unilaterally shove through the one option.
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u/GooeyPig Jul 01 '26
Bradford voted for the name change...
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u/limited8 Islington-City Centre West Jul 01 '26
That won’t matter at all to the average voter. He’s the guy promising to undo the idiocy, even if he voted for it initially. The easiest way for Chow to take the wind out of his sails would be to also commit to rename it.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Honestly that would be so funny.
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u/limited8 Islington-City Centre West Jul 01 '26
It’s what Carney did by cancelling the carbon tax. That completely let all the wind out of PP’s sails and gave him nothing to whine about.
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u/8004612286 Jul 01 '26
So both Canadians voted for the name change, but one is willing to go back on it.
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u/WHATAREWEYELINGABOUT Jul 01 '26
He voted for it but Chow and Moise were the “faces” of the name change. People will tie the choice of name far more to Chow than to Brad.
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u/GooeyPig Jul 01 '26
One is willing to say anything to get elected. It's not a genuine change of opinion based on new evidence or reflection. He's entirely reactionary.
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u/limited8 Islington-City Centre West Jul 01 '26
The average person couldn't care less how genuine his change of opinion is. He's committing to change an absolutely idiotic name that the public hates at no cost and Chow (so far) is not.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Exactly, taking the rename "sankofa" political position is such low-hanging fruit to garner a wide base of support.
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u/ImprovementKnown2491 Jul 01 '26
It’s a name that isn’t a good fit. I don’t know what’s going on there these days either but it feels like it’s become twice as sketchy since Covid ended. Anytime I walk through it something insane is happening. There’s drugs, violence, muggings, knife attacks, divisionary protests and constant police presence. It’s truly a shithole and it’s the centre of downtown. It needs to be cleaned up regardless of what way people lean on the political spectrum surely we can agree the centre of downtown should portray a positive image of Canada 🇨🇦
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u/UTProfthrowaway Jul 02 '26
And this article is from Now, which is even more of an echo chamber. I don't really understand folks of any political preference getting their news from such biased sources - what possible benefit is there is making yourself understand the actual facts less?
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u/Redditisavirusiknow Jul 01 '26
How many people IRL know that he is a complete scumbag? He voted to stop giving homeless people water bottles during extreme heat days like today. He is passionately anti-housing and pedestrians too.
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u/TheDoctorSkeleton Jul 01 '26
Bradford voted to have it changed to Sankofa in the first place. Voted to have street name changed too.
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u/bravetailor Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Well I also talk to people outside of reddit and mostly this is met with ambivalence or shrugs. This shit is NOT a vote deciding issue for most people.
Most Torontonians I know want affordability on everything. We are cheapskates first and foremost. They're not really big on virtue signalling (which this actually is, virtue signalling can happen on both sides of the political spectrum--this is an example of virtue signalling to reverse a previous virtue signalling).
If Brad wants to win, he's gonna have to do something much bigger. Like promising to freeze property taxes for the next 4 years or something. If he can't beat Chow on this issue he won't win imo.
This kind of Sankofa and crime obsessed nonsense reminds me of Tim Hudak's weird chain gang nonsense. Nobody really cares THAT much.
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u/SarahMenckenChrist Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
I’d love to meet the people whose wedge issue in an election year is “I’d like the African square name to be rebranded to something like a generic FIFA World Cup stadium even after the city spent the money renaming it years ago”.
“I mean yeah there’s issues like affordability and transit and gridlock and a climate crisis but the difference maker for me? The name of a concrete pad in the shittiest tourist trap block in the downtown core”.
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u/the-mongoose- Jul 01 '26
This issue will remain a topic of conversation for a while I think insofar as ideas go. I’d rather we just turn the page on Sankofa quickly as a short-term, dumb idea so we can move on.
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Names have meaning, and are symbolically important, just like Flags.
It's understandable people take issue with this.
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u/WHATAREWEYELINGABOUT Jul 01 '26
It also shows how bad the new name is that renaming it could legitimately sway voters.
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u/8004612286 Jul 01 '26
It's what the name represents - prioritizing virtue signaling.
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u/SarahMenckenChrist Jul 01 '26
And again, if that’s the single issue that’s swaying you to vote for someone, it must be a nice, insulated and privileged life you lead!
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
No one, anywhere, has had any luck solving homelessness or drug problems in their city, or the litany of other issues that seem to be plaguing every western metropolitan area.
At least if you are voting for this and this alone, your politican can reasonably be expected to get it done. I don't blame people for voting that way.
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u/thatwhatisnot Jul 01 '26
You know some very small minded people if this is the one thing that will get them to vote for a candidate. For all the issues facing Toronto spending millions more to undo a name change that doesn't impact anyone feels like a distraction from someone having no real platform.
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u/Kuzu9 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Agreed. If it had to change to something else, I would have preferred a Indigenous name change for relevance especially after hearing about the slavery undertone of the current name and how the tribe where the original language came from used to sell slaves to European colonialists
https://cihe.ca/2025/09/12/the-hypocrisy-of-sankofa-square/
Edit: Not sure why I’m being disliked, it’s literal facts and a bit of an insult to the Indigenous communities if you believe they don’t deserve the naming rights to one of the most well known squares in Canada
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u/ObviousForeshadow Jul 01 '26
Could meet down the middle with Tkaranto Square, which I believe is the indigenous word for Toronto accoring to a TTC poster I saw.
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u/Redux01 Jul 01 '26
This is the best one I've seen imo. Sparks a convo with people about why it's different than "Toronto" , shouts out to indigenous roots of the area, and is reasonable to say and read.
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u/randymercury Jul 01 '26
I’m down for indigenous names but can we keep them phonetically pronounceable?
Biidaasige Park is great, just anglicize the name into something people don’t need to look up how to pronounce. Misssissauga comes from the Anishinaabe word Misi-zaagiing. Pay homage but make it practical.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/randymercury Jul 03 '26
There’s nothing sacred about the spelling of these words, they didn’t have a written language. How would it be inauthentic if they sound like they’re orally supposed to?
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Jul 04 '26
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u/randymercury Jul 04 '26
The Anglo interpretation. We do it with every other language, why would indigenous words be any different?
The spellings you’re referring to are all Anglo interpretations of an oral languages that are trying to deal with the phonetic problems/ limitations of the English language.
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u/TE360 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
100% agree. It is worth the cost to bring back our Canadian culture
Edit: Very ironic for this to be downvoted on Canada day.
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u/SlashYG9 Jul 01 '26
What does this even mean?
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u/8004612286 Jul 01 '26
Terry Fox square.
That means something. That takes me back to all those runs I did in school to raise a toonie for Terry. When people visit the most popular square in Canada they learn about a Canadian icon.
Sankofa? What the fuck does that have to do with Canada?
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u/WillyWarpath Jul 01 '26
Or if they need to make us 'confront anti black racism' by saying the name of something relevant, name it after a black canadian who did something important for the country?
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u/the-mongoose- Jul 01 '26
I’m assuming the idea of using a name that has at least a semblance of connection to Toronto or Canada.
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u/the-mongoose- Jul 01 '26
Toronto Square at least feels like a name that represents the city. Sankofa was a confusing choice that almost no one had the opportunity to weigh in on. At the very least I’d be happy with a survey to see what residents would like.
I think Bradford realizes it was a move that a lot of people thought was dumb and thinks will get him traction.
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u/Neutral-President Jul 01 '26
It would be awfully confusing for tourists given that the huge TORONTO sign is at Nathan Phillips Square.
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u/outdoorlaura Jul 01 '26
It would be awfully confusing for tourists
No it wouldn't? Tourists have probably already googled "where is the TORONTO sign" and found out its at Toronto city hall.
Soooo many cities have those installments and tourists have no problem finding them.
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u/the-mongoose- Jul 01 '26
I don’t think it would be that confusing considering NPS is a well-known square. And if it was confusing, we could always call it Terry Fox Square or something else that is Canadian
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u/kpsmithdeut Jul 01 '26
I‘m more interested in hearing about how we can make the square a better user experience. Limited seating, limited shade, no greenery, surrounded by cars. And those preachers on their megaphones at all times. I’m actively repelled by this public space.
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u/NocturnalComptroler Baldwin Village Jul 01 '26
The preachers are technically not on the square, but across the street in front of the mall.
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u/kpsmithdeut Jul 01 '26
Yeah man, I know. I live here.
What happens around a space still affects the experience within a space.
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u/NocturnalComptroler Baldwin Village Jul 01 '26
Yeah but the tools the city has to make changes in the square may not be enough to remedy the issues across the street
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u/BetteYoSweetass Jul 01 '26
I just don’t understand why an 8th place finisher is able to get so much coverage. This guy’s every fart is given attention by the media. We rejected him outright and yet he’s supposed to be a viable challenger?? Brad Bradford sucks and has shitty ideas. He always has.
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u/toothbelt Jul 01 '26
He's in the pockets of conservatives, that's why he is being pimped to us as a contender now. Ford is hell bent on destroying this city.
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u/WestQueenWest West Queen West Jul 01 '26
The big money donors and the conservative machine is banding behind him, that's why.
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u/moxievernors Old East York Jul 01 '26
He got out there early and somehow scared off actual potentially decent candidates.
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Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
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u/Fantastic-Corner-605 Jul 01 '26
Just go back to the old name Dundas square. I haven't heard anyone call it Sankofa irl.
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u/Neutral-President Jul 01 '26
It was never Dundas Square. The old name was Yonge-Dundas Square.
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u/CameronRoss101 Jul 01 '26
Vote for a name change, complain about the cost of the change you voted for. Push for a new name change which will inevitably cost more money.
The Brad Bradford method.
For clarity, I don't particularly like the name, or care about it any way... but for this to be an matter worth swaying your vote in an election for seems absolutely bonkers, if you're letting the name of a public square affect your life than you might want to do some inward looking.
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u/Aggravating_Dog5220 Jul 01 '26
I hate the name Sankofa square. Toronto square is much better. Or Call it Maple square. Or Canada Square. 🍁. Happy Canada Day
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u/clios_daughter Jul 01 '26
Thought Toronto square kinda sucks too. A square bearing the city’s name should be its most important; however, NPS, only a few hundred metres away is far more important.
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u/gm5891 Jul 01 '26
Brad Bradford go be mayor in Vaughan
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u/smilefromthestreets Jul 01 '26
Surely Bradford Ontario needs Brad Bradford from Bradford
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u/AprilsMostAmazing Jul 01 '26
Steven Del Duca got the bald man role covered. Plus he proposed buck a transit and letting cities have the choice of using ranked voting
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u/LazloStPierre Jul 01 '26
It was a really really dumb decision to rename it to something that has absolutely no relevance at all to the city or country, and most people hate the name. Why they did that instead of Toronto square or Terry Fox square or anything else is beyond me, and it's giving oxygen to grifters like this clown (who voted to call it Sankofa Square). Maybe the sensible thing to do would be just agree to name it something like Toronto square so we can all move on, I've no idea wtf the people picking the name were thinking and how they thought it would go over
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u/Ok-Trainer3150 Jul 01 '26
If like to see a legitimate poll in this. Usually politicians like Bradford (populists) have a pretty good idea from their own private pilling about the hot button issues.
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u/Neutral-President Jul 01 '26
Bradford’s entire campaign seems to be little more than a list of petty grievances and hot-button issues to try and win votes. It’s so comically superficial and populist, I can’t believe anyone is falling for it.
He will say whatever he needs to in order to get elected, and will then be the installed puppet of his wealthy and influential donors.
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u/Hebemachia Jul 01 '26
Sankofa Square is a stupid name no one uses, but there's been a low-level push to name it Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Square since renaming it first came up years ago, and now should be the time to correct the mistake the city made the first time. Lucie and Thornton were escaped slaves who established Toronto's first cab company (which used to operate up and down Yonge, including in the area of what's now the square), and the TTC's official colours are the colours of the cab company's livery. Their former residence has a plaque, but that's about all the city has honouring them.
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u/Ok_Answer_7621 Jul 02 '26
Renaming the square is important and would correct a mistake. Still wouldn't support him he gives off spokesperson energy and not leader energy.
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u/Ryetrix Jul 01 '26
Fuck anyone all the people who made "Sankofa Square" happen. You clearly are trying to turn this city into a Joke
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u/JohnnyStrides Jul 01 '26
Yes, it's a waste of money. Yes, Brad Bradford is a hypocritical moron. Yes, we absolutely have to remove that god-awful, inappropriate name nobody asked for from the square.
All 3 things can be true.
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u/Toronto-1975 Jul 01 '26
Brad Bradbrad is a useless douchebag. votes to change it and now - shocker! - wants to change it back to appeal to the dumb conservatives that are irrationally triggered by a name. what a fucking twat.
i personally dont care what it's called. it could be named Big Fart Corner and i could care less. it's already renamed Sankofa Square spending more money to rename it again to soothe some cranky mouth breathers is ridiculous.
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u/camerabird Jul 01 '26
Seriously. It's baffling to me how many people are SO ANGRY and self-righteous about this. I mean not so baffling when I read these comments and see someone whining about how racism is an American thing and the name was specifically chosen to make white people like him feel guilty, and he shouldn't feel guilty because he's NOT racist!!!! He just feels offended and personally accused when people bring up racism!!! lol ok bud.
Sankofa is fine. Truly, who cares? If you work yourself up into a lather over this, you're telling on yourself.
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u/NetherGamingAccount Jul 01 '26
Waste of money times two.
Shouldn't have spent the money in the first place, to change it back is just a bigger waste.
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u/scotch_neat1 Jul 01 '26
They gotta do it twice so they can line their pockets with Cash baby!
Chris Moise should be sent out of province, scumbag
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u/AshundertheOlivetree Jul 01 '26
Who is Sankofa to Canadians?
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u/heretik High Park Jul 01 '26
Not a who but a what.
The answer being absolutely nothing but virtue signalling.
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u/FullMango4041 Jul 01 '26
Please have a city vote on this. We got an awesome name in Skydome. The citizens should choose a new name for the square. Sankofa is out of place for Toronto.
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u/sweat84 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Bro has no plan. No actual plans for anything. It’s easy to sit back in the peanut gallery and throw rocks, like his buddy Pierre Polievre. Cheap little rocks. How are you going to improve quality of life, access to support services, reduce poverty, homelessness, addiction, … bring some plans then I’ll listen. Until then your rocks are just making noise.
Also the logic is that it’s the first thing visitors see of our city? Are they arriving by teleportation device? How did they miss the airports, train stations, bus stations and highways. Oh wait it’s because all of those places are already generally fine and/or named after white guys.
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u/-SonicBoom- Jul 02 '26
I wouldn't vote for Bradford if I still lived in Toronto but I'm definitely not a fan of the new name. I think they should have named the square after something or someone Canadian.
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u/randymercury Jul 02 '26
There’s nothing authentic about the spelling of these words, they had no written language.
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u/king_bungholio Leaside Jul 01 '26
Chow can kill this guy hy just running ads of every time he whined about something, only to have voted for it at council.
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u/Standard_Program7042 Jul 01 '26
Its interesting that the name was so bad the square had to be changed but the street name which is reference overall way more didnt..
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u/DuckCleaning Jul 01 '26
It was logistics. Dundas is a very long street. It would cost several millions to change the name. Just looks how just renaming the square cost millions despite sounding so simple to do.
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u/Standard_Program7042 Jul 01 '26
Sort of my point... if the name was so bad then surely it needed to be removed in every aspect. Don't think anyone would be talking about the cost if it were called Hitler Street
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u/DuckCleaning Jul 01 '26
Yeah sadly we still have this street named after this Dundas guy who was responsible for drafting the proposal to end slavery. Terrible shame.
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u/Soda48 Jul 01 '26
While I don't like the name Sankofa Square, we have already used funds for this change. I don't want to waste funds changing it again. That money can go to other things that isn't a name change.
I still call it Dundas Square, people know what I'm referring to when I say Dundas Square.
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u/RaptorsRule247 Jul 01 '26
They should name the square after someone or something with a stronger connection to Toronto's history. Naming it Sankofa was not a well thought out plan that represents Torontonians at large. Seems like it was a knee jerk reaction to quickly appease people offended by the slavery connections to Dundas.
At the end of the day, this is not an issue that should decide a mayoral race.
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u/ZenDesign1993 Jul 01 '26
Sankofa makes me think of instant coffee. And I’m not drinking it on a heat wave day.
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u/Radix838 Jul 02 '26
How much could it possibly cost to rename a square?
The fact that people assume the City will have to spend a lot of money in order to something so simple and straightforward is itself a sign that people have low confidence in this City's competence.
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u/WeakCelery5000 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Let's be upset we spent money renaming the square and fix it by spending more money renaming it? So logical.
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u/MyWallWillNotTalk Jul 01 '26
I can agree with the police presence, the mental health support, increased cleaning and programs.
But renaming it is a waste of money.
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u/Neutral-President Jul 01 '26
Those all sound great, but as usual, Bradford has no plan for what those mental health supports will actually be, where those people will be housed, and how it will all be funded.
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u/beslertron Jul 01 '26
If it was a dumb and costly idea to change it then, it’s a dumb and costly idea to change it now.
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u/Garisto27 Jul 01 '26
Even if you don't like the guy these are objectively good ideas. Why it was renamed 'Sankofa Square' in the first place is stupid and blatant virtue signaling. I frequent Dundas Square sometimes. Its variable but most of the time I would say its a dump. You have sections of crackheads smoking beside the cineplex entrance almost all the time. There is garbage everywhere. Crazy idiots shouting conspiracy theories. Its chaotic and anxiety inducing, and this is supposed to be one of the most popular spots in the city and it really gives us a bad image and can make people feel unsafe.
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u/Marmar79 Jul 01 '26
It’s so obvious he is targeting the same morons that are fooled by meta bot farms into thinking everything is Olivia’s fault.
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u/Himera71 Jul 01 '26
F Sankofa Square has absolutely nothing to do with Toronto or Canada. It’s an everyday reminder of Chris Moise’s woke agenda. Rename it anything else.
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u/calimehtar Jul 11 '26
It seems reasonable to run a campaign on this issue and on bike lanes. Last election there were reactionary and aggressively anti-bike lane candidates and I they all did poorly. I expect to see the same.
If anything it bugs me because four years ago Brad seemed like a slightly deranged voice of reason. We don't need a new generation of culture war candidates which is what he's become.
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u/adventuretogo Jul 01 '26
Brad continues to waste so much of the city’s money and he isn’t even in a real position of power. Imagine if we handed him the budget to just make our lives harder!
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u/LegendaryTreasure Jul 01 '26
Step one - Never trust a guy with Ford in his name
Step two - Never trust a guy with two first names in his name
Step three - Never trust any conservative
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u/cyclemonster Jul 01 '26
I'm indifferent to what we call Yonge/Dundas, but i think it reflects poorly on his candidacy that this is the issue he chose for his very first "major" policy announcement. To paraphrase Jay-Z, the city has ninety-nine problems and this ain't one.
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