A new petition launched by Common Sense Calgary is steadily gaining momentum in response to the decision to rename the Fort Calgary Historic Site.The site, which marks its 150th anniversary this year, was quietly rebranded as the Confluence Historic Site and Parkland last spring, in a move that has courted controversy and prompted calls for a reversal.The renaming was originally announced on May 2, 2024, by the Fort Calgary Preservation Society.At the time, Confluence president Jen Thompson explained the decision was about broadening the narrative and adding more diverse voices.“The Confluence is about the coming together of separate entities, identities and histories,” Thompson said, pointing out that indigenous communities, the RCMP, local Calgarians, and other groups had been consulted as part of an effort to advance truth and reconciliation..Fort Calgary renamed ‘I’táámito’táaattsiiyio’pi’; residential school monument goes ahead onsite.According to the petition, the fort isn’t just a historical landmark, it’s a symbol of the city’s roots and identity.Those against the new name say it’s a “generic” and “corporate-sounding” label, which has connected with so few people that the city is now “launching a new marketing campaign and survey to figure out why no one’s buying into it.”The petition goes on to state that The Confluence’s official website barely mentions the site’s 150th anniversary, other than to “advertise an event series called ‘Hot Takes on History’ that will feature discussions on ‘decolonization’ and ‘the racist roots of Calgary's institutions.’”Thompson told the Western Standard, information and registration for upcoming events celebrating the 150th anniversary are available to the public via the official website and social media platforms. She also stated that plans for the site's 150th anniversary have been in the works for, "over a year," and her organization has been working with the University of Calgary to make sure there is, "a public presence for information." The “confluence” refers to the junction where the Bow and Elbow rivers become one, which historically was a traditional meeting place for the local indigenous peoples.Fort Calgary was founded by the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1875 to help counter rum and whiskey runners, as well as to assert Canadian sovereignty in the West.Although none of the original 1875 structures remain on the site, heritage buildings like the 1906 Deane House and the Hunt House still stand nearby..MacBAIN: Nothing complex about Fort Calgary's Mounties — they brought safety.For many Calgarians, the change represents a loss of a foundational piece of the city's identity.Some opponents, such as David Marsden, said the name represented “the physical embodiment of the city’s earliest days and its hard-scrabbled quest to persevere in the Canadian West.”Others, like Calgary school teacher Kelden Formosa, felt the renaming was more of “a marketing strategy rather than a genuine act of reconciliation.”In an article published by The Hub, Formosa said the move was about erasing a part of the city’s collective history that many would “prefer to think about honestly.”“It’s corporate rebranding,” he said.Thompson said the name change came after a long-standing conversation of what the identity of the site was, stating the discussion had been in flux for the better part of a decade. "If you had been through the museum in the last 10-15 years, there wasn’t a consistent or contextual story of the history of [the site]," she stated."Two years ago, we started public engagement about what people wanted to see and what their expectations were.".UPDATED: Alberta government opens new exhibit at the Royal Tyrrell Museum .Critics have previously pointed out that Fort Calgary is a National Historic Site on municipally owned land, and the Fort Calgary Preservation Society — largely funded by taxpayers — didn’t seek public approval before the renaming.When discussing rebrand costs, Thompson said the total amounted to $90,000 for a year's worth of engagement ($30,000) and design ($60,000).She reiterated those costs came from the organization and were not "grant funding." In a 2024 interview on QR Calgary’s The Morning Brew with Andrew Schultz, Sheryl-Ann Carscadden of the Indigenous Gathering Place Society said she was “caught by surprise” by the renaming and described community elders as asking whether or not it was “an erasure of history?”Since the renaming, Thompson says her organization has received positive feedback overall from the broader Calgary community, and has seen a dramatic increase in engagement across its social media platforms as well as at the site itself."We had 700 people come out recently just for our new Blackfoot exhibit that opened in May," she said. "When we did our open house for our rebrand, we saw 500 people come through the doors. "People are really excited to have these conversations."However, despite the society’s intentions, the Common Sense Calgary petition argues the new name lacks the historical weight and specificity of Fort Calgary.“Renaming Fort Calgary doesn’t bring people together — it divides us.”The petition aims to garner 10,000 signatures and, at the time of writing, has so far reached 4,178.
