In June 2023, Oshawa City Council committed to taking meaningful steps in its reconciliation journey and is looking to engage the local Indigenous community in regards to the renaming of Bagot Street, a street in the city’s downtown core with colonial ties.

The street renaming is not meant to erase of history, rather it is meant to educate the Oshawa community on the harms caused by Charles Bagot, the author of the Bagot Commission Report of 1844 which included recommendations to separate Indigenous children from their families and culture through the means of residential schools, and whom the street is currently named after.

Oshawa City Council has committed to ensuring that a new name is chosen through consultation with Indigenous communities. As a result, an Indigenous Renaming Working Group was formed with representation from the City of Oshawa, the Williams Treaties First Nations, the Oshawa and Durham Métis Council, Bawaajigewin Aboriginal Community Circle and other Indigenous community members.

Additional information about this initiative is available in the oshawa.ca/StreetRenamingReport.

Oshawa is surrounded by many First Nation communities and is also home to many urban Indigenous populations. As such, the City recognizes the importance of bringing forward many Indigenous voices in this decision. The Working Group is inviting all the local Indigenous communities to contribute suggestions for a potential new street name with the hope that suggested names celebrate, recognize and honour the contributions Indigenous Peoples have made to contemporary existence.

Suggested street names can be submitted until Friday, April 12. Received names will be reviewed and considered by the Working Group in their recommendation to Oshawa City Council. Suggested names not selected for this renaming will be kept on a list for potential future use.