Vancouver's Trutch Street to officially be renamed following unanimous council vote

A street in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood will soon be officially renamed in what members of the Musqueam Indian Band call a step forward for reconciliation.

Trutch Street will be called Musqueamview Street in English and šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm — pronounced "sh-MUS-quee-um-AW-sum" — in the Musqueam Indian Band's hən̓q̓əmin̓əm (hun-kuh-MEE-num) language.

It comes after a unanimous vote by city council in July 2021 to replace the name of the street, located between Blenheim and Balaclava streets on the city's west side. 

Musqueamview Street runs 16 blocks, with its northern apex near the water at Jericho Beach, and the southern end near Carnarvon Park.

The street — originally named after Joseph Trutch, B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor — was renamed because of Trutch's racist policies against Indigenous people, including drastically reducing the size of reserves and refusing to let Indigenous people purchase land from non-Indigenous people.

Vancouver city council rubberstamped the renaming Tuesday morning after council voted unanimously in favour of city staff's recommendation to change the name to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm — a name gifted to the city by the Musqueam Indian Band in September 2022.

Larry Grant, an elder and the manager of the band's language and culture department, said that the renaming comes as Canada tries to work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"It's really, really important that our young ones that are coming up behind [us] to understand our language has some meaning ... and it brings forward community pride," he said.

"So that's really my hope for all."

Grant and the Musqueam Indian Band worked alongside the city to implement the changes, and the elder said that there would be storyboards along the largely residential street talking about Trutch and why the street was once named after him.

"We did not want to completely erase his name ... but also keep history in focus, so that people would understand why the name was changed," he said.

Vanessa Campbell, another member of the Musqueam language and culture department, said the band's members were very excited and honoured by the change, especially given there are no fluent speakers of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language left.

She acknowledged that hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ orthography may be a new sight for some Vancouverites.

"We're going to make sure that there's lots of different types of educational materials so that you can learn in any way that makes you feel most comfortable," she said.

WATCH | Trutch Street renaming up for council decision: 

City of Vancouver to vote on renaming Trutch Street

1 month ago

Duration 1:58

He was one of the founders of modern British Columbia. But over the last few years, Joseph Trutch has had his name removed from streets in Victoria and Nanaimo for his anti-Indigenous views. And on Tuesday, Vancouver council will vote to make their own street change. Justin McElroy has more on the change, and what it means

Some systems can't display new name

In the report to city council on Tuesday, city staff said it had sought input from first responders on the name change, given it has been in the works for years.

It found that emergency responders, city systems and even agencies like Canada Post and ICBC had trouble displaying the new name.

In those instances, the city says the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name will be used where possible.

"Those that cannot will use the name 'Musqueamview [Street]' with a footnote wherever possible stating 'Musqueamview [Street] is a translated name available for use while colonial systems work to accept multilingual characters,'" the report says.

The city said the change will impact 100 unique addresses on the street.

Vancouver resident Verity Livingstone told CBC News on Monday that she was in favour of the renaming.

"I think history marches forward and, therefore, we should all be cognizant of of the fact it's time for change," Livingstone said. "And if we can come up with a name that respects the history of this place, I think we should use it."

Streets and institutions around B.C. that were named for Trutch have been renamed in the wake of the reappraisal of his racist and colonizing legacy.

In Victoria, what was once Trutch Street is now səʔit Street, pronounced say-eet.

In Richmond, the former Trutch Avenue was renamed after B.C.'s first Indigenous lieutenant-governor, Steven Point.