Cornwallis Street officially renamed in honour of residential school survivor Nora Bernard
‘She was an activist, she was a warrior, she was a matriarch,’ says daughter Natalie Gloade
After a ceremony Monday in Halifax's north end, the street formerly known as Cornwallis Street is now officially Nora Bernard Street.
The renaming honours the Mi'kmaw activist who was a driving force behind a class-action lawsuit against Canada on behalf of residential school survivors that was settled for upwards of $5 billion in 2005.
"It's just an amazing privilege and honour to have my mother's name — the late Nora Bernard — a street named after her," said Natalie Gloade after the new street sign was unveiled.
The street was previously named for Edward Cornwallis, the former British governor of Nova Scotia who issued a proclamation in 1749 promising a bounty of 10 guineas for each Mi'kmaw person killed.
Bernard was born on the Millbrook First Nation, near Truro, N.S., and was forced to attend the Shubenacadie residential school as a child.
While there, she worked hard to preserve her language, her daughter said. Bernard spoke to her siblings in secret, despite often being punished and beaten for attempting to do so.
"She was a very meek and mild woman, but she was a [force] to be reckoned with," said Gloade
Bernard was killed in 2007 at the age of 72 by her grandson, James Douglas Gloade, who later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter.
For Natalie Gloade, the decision to rename Cornwallis Street is a testament to the work her mother did to correct the historical record and seek justice for Indigenous people everywhere.
"Her legacy will live on, and now we have to rewrite the history books.… We have to tell the truth of what actually took place," she said.
In 2022, Halifax regional council voted in favour of renaming Cornwallis Street to Nora Bernard Street, following a report from a task force that found "continued public commemoration of his role is incompatible with current values."
After residents were asked to vote on potential new names for the street, Bernard's was selected.
As part of a similar process of reconciliation, a high school in Upper Tantallon named after Sir John A. Macdonald was renamed Bay View High School in 2021.
On Monday, Millbrook First Chief Bob Gloade and Coun. Lindell Smith, along with members of Bernard's family, were among those on hand for the unveiling.
"She was an activist," said Gloade. "She was a warrior. She was a matriarch … and we loved her dearly."
With files from Kathleen McKenna