Royal not more: New Westminster to drop the ‘Royal Town’ as its logo

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New Westminster used to be named through Queen Victoria in 1859, and has been referred to as the “Royal Town” ever since.

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However that is about to modify, no less than formally. Monday evening, New Westminster council voted to rebrand town and search for a brand new motto.

Deane Gurney of the New Westminster Heritage Preservation Society used to be stunned.

“I don’t know if anyone’s been consulted in this, however I do know we now have now not been consulted in any respect,” he mentioned.

“So this all got here as a large wonder to us. We’re now not in favour of it, for the reason that Royal Town has been branded within the province. … We’ve were given over 100 years of being the Royal Town, and everyone is aware of the place it’s.”

New West Mayor Jonathan Cote made the movement to rebrand town, which used to be at first referred to as Queensborough when it used to be based in 1858.

Cote — who isn’t in search of reelection this 12 months —  mentioned there used to be a dialogue about eliminating the Royal Town moniker a number of years in the past, nevertheless it used to be nixed after “reasonably slightly of group pushback.”

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However he feels issues have modified, given the present transfer to reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

“I believe there was a rising popularity the Royal Town moniker might not be inclusive or truly constitute now not most effective the present numerous nature of New Westminster, but additionally its complete historical past that is going well past British agreement there,” he mentioned.

“From my point of view, I believed this used to be a great time to be attractive in that dialogue, and beginning the method for town to adapt its town branding.”

However Gurney doesn’t see it as a lot of an instance of reconciliation with First Countries.

“I don’t suppose that is what natives are desirous about as reconciliation, converting your identify,” he mentioned. “What they’re in search of, in my working out anyway, is a popularity of what has took place to them since white settlers got here to Canada, and the remedy they have got won over that time frame.

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“Converting the identify to no matter. … Does that imply we need to take British out of British Columbia? How some distance are we going to move in this?”

However Rhonda Larrabee of the Qayqayt First Country thinks rebranding is “a beautiful concept.”

Larrabee is the manager of the Qayqayt, which nearly changed into extinct after its reserve used to be closed in 1916 and its participants scattered round different First Countries.

“The truth is there have been many everlasting citizens of New Westminster who had been Indigenous, and had been summarily ousted from the land in 1916 from the McKenna-McBride fee,” mentioned Larrabee.

She mentioned traditionally the Qayqayt lived “proper at the river under the Woodlands web page.” However they had been moved to the opposite facet of the Fraser River after which to Poplar Island ahead of being dispersed.

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The First Country recently has no land and most effective 15 participants, however made a land declare in 2012 that Larrabee mentioned is meant to be settled within the subsequent 3 years.

New West historian Archie Miller mentioned the speculation of rebranding is difficult, given New West’s historical past.

“I will be able to perceive why they’re pondering of creating the alternate,” mentioned Miller. “You’ll be able to perceive the significance of that to the Indigenous folks, what it supposed, the issues that took place at the moment.

“However (being referred to as the Royal Town) is a big a part of our historical past. You’ll be able to’t simply sell off it and say we’re now not going to take care of that anymore and not use the time period once more. You’ll be able to’t see that taking place.”

In truth, a lot of non-public corporations recently use the Royal Town identify, corresponding to Royal Town Taxi, the Royal Town Mall and Royal Town Jewellers and Loans. So the identify gained’t disappear in a single day.

However the royal crown on New West’s letterhead and site will almost certainly disappear reasonably quickly.

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