Vancouver city council votes to change the name of Trutch Street

The West Side road honours an architect of the theft of Indigenous land

by Charlie Smith on July 9th, 2021 at 8:20 AM

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Mayor Kennedy Stewart has done what no one in his position has ever done before.

He introduced a motion to remove former colonial chief land commissioner Joseph Trutch's name from a street in Kitsilano.

Last night, Vancouver council unanimously approved this. It means city staff will have to "report back on the most expeditious way to rename Trutch Street with an alternative name chosen by the Musqueam Indian Band".

The Musqueam requested the name change.

Trutch was also the province's first lieutenant-governor after B.C. joined Confederation in 1871.

In 2012, this sticker was posted on signs for Trutch Streets.

Charlie Smith

In his motion, Stewart described Trutch as "a racist and the chief architect of racist policies which inflicted immense and long-standing harm to First Nations People".

That included denying Indigenous people title to their lands and blocking their right to buy land held by non-Indigenous people.

In addition, Trutch advocated for far smaller First Nations reserves.