New deal, new name for Yonge-Dundas Square and Rob Ford Stadium cap marathon council session

Toronto councillors wrapped their last meeting of the year with a marathon session that has far-reaching implications for the city on a wide-array of fronts, including its troubled finances and a major city landmark.

Councillors went the distance, using all of the allotted time in their three-day session to squeeze in as much business as possible. They even extended the session on Thursday night to pack in an important and unusual walk-on motion to deal with renaming Yonge-Dundas Square.

Here are a few takeaways from the final council meeting of 2023.

New deal with province

Councillors signed off on a new deal with the province on Wednesday, which will give the city billions of dollars in financial relief over the next decade. The upload of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to the province is a key piece of the agreement, and staff can now begin work on that and the other elements of the agreement because of the council approval.

Councillors also voted to request $2.7 billion in aid from the federal government as part of the deal. That funding is key because some of the cash pledged by Ontario requires Ottawa to step up and provide matching funds.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shows a portrait of his late brother and former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, to Toronto's current Mayor Olivia Chow, before their meeting at the Queen's Park Legislature in Toronto, on Monday, Sept. 18,2023. Chow has said the new deal struck between the province and City is not linked to a decision to rename a football stadium after former mayor Ford. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

Mayor Olivia Chow hailed the deal as transformational. But she said if the federal government doesn't come to the table, the city will still find itself in trouble ahead of next month's budget kick-off.

"We are absolutely needing the federal government to step up," she said. "Many of these historic commitments from the province hinge on the federal government delivering as well."

Budget Chief Shelley Carroll urged city residents to talk with their MPs over the holidays and ask them to support Toronto.

"This could be the year that every federal MP really should have the most well-attended and busy New Year's levee they've ever had," she said. "They have to step up to this."

Tense debate over renaming stadium after Rob Ford

Councillors clashed over a controversial proposal to rename the Centennial Park football stadium in Etobicoke after former mayor Rob Ford. They voted 17-6 to change its name, despite the objection of a minority of councillors who pushed for a full public consultation on the renaming.

The vote saw a notable split amongst some of Mayor Olivia Chow's key allies, including two of her appointed deputy mayors and the chair of the TTC board. Chow stalwarts Alejandra Bravo, Amber Morley, Jamaal Myers and Ausma Malik voted against the renaming.

Chow voted for the measure with many of Ford's remaining allies and some of his staunchest critics during the former mayor's scandal-plagued term in office.

The mayor has insisted that the renaming, which was requested by the Ford family and rejected by city council in 2017, was not connected to the new deal signed between the province and city.

Coun. Dianne Saxe also voted against the renaming and said the polarizing former mayor does not deserve the honour. She was skeptical about Chow's insistence that the renaming had nothing to do with the agreement.

"If there's no link to the new deal the province is giving, then there's no rush," she said. "And we do have time to comply with the city's naming policy. If there is a link, it's completely inappropriate."

Deputy Mayor Mike Colle said he supported the renaming because it's the right thing to do.

"Rob by no means was a perfect human being," he said. "But he had a great heart. And again, he really gave his life to local politics, to [city hall], to football and to young people."

Surprise push to rename Yonge-Dundas Square

One of the most consequential decisions of the session could prove to be the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square.

The walk-on motion from Coun. Chris Moise will see one of Toronto's busiest landmarks renamed to Sankofa Square. Sankofa is a term from Ghana which city staff say loosely translates to remembering the past to push forward to a brighter future.

Visitors to Yonge-Dundas Square are pictured on Dec. 14, 2023 (Alex Lupul/CBC)

The debate on Thursday night was at times emotional. Council had been engaged in a process to rename Dundas Street since 2021. The street was named for Scottish politician Henry Dundas, who has historic links to the transatlantic slave trade.

Moise said the decision is important to the city's Black community.

"I know many young Black boys and girls, grandparents are watching us here today and really reflecting and feeling that the city sees them, perhaps for the first time," Moise said.

The change could be made as soon as April. But the motion passed by council also appears to indefinitely pause the push to rename Dundas Street, a move which could have cost the city millions.

The expense to rename the square will be covered by an existing development charge fund in Moise's ward.