Amid a self-reported financial crisis, the City of Edmonton has announced plans to spend more money renaming even more infrastructure in the name of “equity and inclusion.”

After spending $680,000 on renaming the Oliver neighborhood to Wîhkwêntôwin in February, the city appears eager to rebrand more communities and infrastructure with alleged discriminatory names.

Although the Oliver rebrand was extremely controversial among Edmontonians, with some calling it money well wasted, City Councillors continue to review potential name changes.

City staff are creating a “public database” where all municipal entities named in Edmonton will be compiled and reviewed for possible rebranding.

There are currently 1,455 names entered in the database, including streets, bridges, ravines, recreation centers, and cemeteries.

A naming committee stated that any municipal infrastructure currently holding a derogatory or discriminatory name with offensive connotations could be changed, or if the name “no longer reflects Edmonton’s current community values of equity and inclusion.”

The city’s administrative staff informed councilors that they lack an estimate for future expenses, and such funding is not presently allocated within the city budgets.

“What’s the scale and scope of the renaming and does it need to be … (considered in the next) four-year budget? I don’t want to continually be surprised with these price tags in the committee meetings,” stated Coun. Erin Rutherford. 

City of Edmonton admits they’re out of money 

In March after almost reaching its debt limit, the City of Edmonton admitted to having no money. 

“The city’s tapped, the city’s out of money,” said Councilor Tim Cartmell.

Following that statement, Edmonton struggles to afford funding for basic services such as transit stations, LRT cars, and homeless shelters. 

After the City wasted $82 million on failed electric ETS vehicles, they now require $257 million to replace over 300 buses and $240 million for 37 LRT cars.