Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced legislation last Thursday that will prevent the Toronto District School Board from removing the names of Canada’s historical figures from its schools.
The legislation, tabled on May 29, will require school boards to seek approval from the minister before changing the name of any existing school.
In February the TDSB approved a committee recommendation to change the names of three schools named after Sir John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and Henry Dundas from three public schools.
The board’s move drew resistance from the public, who formed a petition calling for government intervention to halt the renaming project.
The law will apply retroactively to any name changes made on or after Jan. 1, 2025, granting the minister the power to approve or reject the changes.
“I should be able to move quickly when it is very clear that a school board has lost its way,” Calandra posted on X. “The legislation I introduced today, if passed, would allow me to do that.”
The move is part of Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, which also targets school board accountability and financial management.
Calandra argued that the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has diverted funds away from classrooms by spending time and resources on its school renaming policies.
The TDSB is projecting a $58 million deficit for the 2025-2026 school year.
The Canadian Institute for Historical Education (CIHE), which has been lobbying against the name changes, welcomed the government’s decision.
CIHE described the recent moves by the Ontario government as “good news” in a Facebook post celebrating the introduction of Bill 33 and the Ontario government’s decision to order the removal of a plywood box that had blocked the view of Sir John A. Macdonald’s statue at Queen’s Park for the past five years.