Oliver community celebrates 100 years while searching for a new name

It’s been 100 years since the Oliver neighbourhood, then under a different name, was formed in Edmonton, but as the community celebrates, it’s also looking toward a different future.

In 1922, the Oliver community was founded as the West End Community League. At the time, the neighbourhood was on Edmonton’s far west end.

"In the mid-1930s the city decided the community needed something a little more accurate because it wasn't quite in the west side anymore, and at that time the Oliver School had already been named after Frank Oliver and the community chose to name itself after the name of the area," said Robyn Paches, president of the Oliver Community League.

The community league hosted an anniversary event at Constable Ezio Faraone Park Saturday with food and entertainment available. Among the tents, there was also the Uncover Oliver Project.

Since June of 2020, the community league has been working with residents to come up with a new name for the neighbourhood.

"Our Indigenous community members as well as community members from other marginalized groups spoke very clearly to us that they felt hurt, uncomfortable and not welcome in a community named after Frank Oliver," said Paches.

"It was well-documented, his hate against Indigenous people and well as folks he didn't see as the ideal British White and he… was at the forefront of pushing Indigenous peoples from the current land that Oliver is on, as well as some area to the south of the river."

Frank Oliver was the minister of interior at the time and helped enact policies that targeted Indigenous land rights and restricted immigration.

Uncover Oliver has been working with the community league on public engagement, with a focus on Indigenous and marginalized communities that were affected by Frank Oliver.

"It's an incredible grassroots movement of community members coming together and recognizing that Oliver doesn't really reflect the inclusive community that we want to be building here,” said Anne Stevenson, Ward O’day-min councillor.

"I think it's really important to everyone involved that this process be done really well and really meaningfully, and it takes time to build those relationships," added Katherine Lennon, an Uncover Oliver Project member. "For the league, a lot of this comes from a desire to repair historical wrongs and act towards reconciliation.

“Of course, those are not quick things and they're also not things that can be done with one new name."

Public engagement is currently ongoing, with Uncover Oliver hoping to hold at least one more community event. A survey is also available on the project website.

The community hopes to have a new name chosen by summer of 2023. Once the name is submitted to the city, administration will review how it will impact the renaming of the arena, park and pool that also share the Oliver name.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jessica Robb and Adam Lachacz