Talk:Sankofa Square

Requested move 25 August 2025

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Jeffrey34555 (talk) 00:43, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

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Yonge–Dundas Square → Sankofa Square – Official name change from Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square. Per WP:TITLE and WP:OFFICIALNAME. Alaney2k (talk) 00:41, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

• Comment WP:OFFICIALNAME actually warns against using the official name: "People often assume that, where an official name exists for the subject of a Wikipedia article, that name is ipso facto the correct title for the article, and that if the article is under another title, then it should be moved. In many cases, this is contrary to Wikipedia practice and policy."

Again per WP:OFFICIALNAME, "An official English name (...) should always be considered as a possibility, but should be used only if it is actually the name most commonly used."

Is there evidence that most recent secondary sources use "Sankofa Square"? 162 etc. (talk) 02:39, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

It also says using the official name is usually the right choice. Alaney2k (talk) 19:52, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

I added the grand opening reference to the ending of the History section. I don't see a reason why this should be opposed. We regularly rename articles of hockey arenas when their names get changed for sponsorship reasons. Like Air Canada Centre to Scotiabank Arena. Alaney2k (talk) 05:31, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Per WP:COMMONNAME, Wikipedia "prefers the name that is most commonly used (as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable, English-language sources."

OP cites only this, which is not an independent source. No evidence of COMMONNAME; Oppose. 162 etc. (talk) 15:47, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

Just do a google search of Sankofa Square. There are lots of references, going back the past two years., e.g., Yonge and Dundas Square officially renamed Sankofa Square during ceremony - CTV News, Sankofa Square officially opens in Toronto - City News Alaney2k (talk) 18:01, 25 August 2025 (UTC)

These references are all regarding the name change and opening and do not represent how most people and popular media refer to it. Oppose per WP:COMMONAME Adffb vg (talk) 19:56, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

Oppose per WP:COMMONTERM. This name is a technicality and not the actual name in practice, everyone in Toronto says and only known of Yonge-Dundas Square. Similar to how Twitter still has not been renamed. Sabuskii (talk) 00:46, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

That's weak and not a good reason because you cannot prove it. You cannot authoritatively say that everyone in Toronto says yonge-dundas square. I have personal experience myself that people in Toronto DO in fact know the name. Alaney2k (talk) 18:49, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

People know the name and only make fun of the city for having renamed it Sankofa Square. In my own experience, no one has casually referred to it as Sankofa Square, and people still refer to it as Yonge Dundas. Sabuskii (talk) 13:07, 27 August 2025 (UTC)

• Oppose renaming by a handful of misinformed politicians is meaningless. Nobody will use the new name, especially once word gets out that Ghana still practices slavery. Until it becomes common parlance, the article should remain at the common name. 70.31.55.234 (talk) 15:45, 28 August 2025 (UTC)
  • Slavery count is something like 90,000 in Ghana, 69,000 in Canada. I'm not sure of the relevance, though, to naming the article. Sankofa is simply a word. Is this trolling? Alaney2k (talk) 05:19, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Renaming

Can the few racist or "anti-woke" or whatever else bullshit people who are purposefully blocking the renaming of the page to its current official name stop their nonsense blocking, please? Thanks.

This is an encyclopedia, not a forum of public opinion. And even if it was, there is actually no proof that public opinion clearly reject the name. Unlike what many unfortunately believe, Wikipedia is not and should not be a "culture war" battleground. If the official name is Dundas, use that. If it is Sankofa, use that. Simple as that. To the wikipedians who are so butthurt about the name change, they can always add as much content (duly sourced, of course) as they want in the "Controversies" section. That is the section that is about public opinion and so-called "culture wars". Snarcky1996 (talk) 11:17, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

I personally agree that the page should be renamed to reflect the new name, however, I do not agree with making changes which are not supported by consensus.

Address the WP:COMMONNAME/WP:OFFICIALNAMES concerns raised by editors in discussions above instead of making unilateral changes and calling people who disagree with you racist or "anti-woke". —WildComet ^talk 20:44, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for your answer. I am aware that we should assume good faith as much as possible from others on Wikipedia, but let's be serious, in this case, the reasons of the refusal of some to use the official name is not motivated by anything that can be construed as "good faith" according to the standards of Wikipedia.

But although I may be harsh in my words, a formal request to settle this and finally rename this page to its current appropriate name is what I just did by opening a new topic on this talk page. Snarcky1996 (talk) 22:36, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@Snarcky1996: I've once again reverted your move of the article. The consensus title, per the above 2025 RM, is Yonge–Dundas Square.

Discussion is welcome here on the talkpage; however, these pagemoves are disruptive. The article should not be moved against consensus. 162 etc. (talk) 22:48, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

I second this; the previous requested move on 25 August 2025 and in May included some poorly reasoned objections to the new name, including a claim that “Ghana still practices slavery” and therefore that a name originating from a Black cultural context aimed at addressing anti-Black racism and slavery should not be supported. it really says a lot about the mindset behind those arguments.

Zochaian (talk) 08:56, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Furthermore, reaching consensus is not just about counting heads while ignoring the imbalanced weight of arguments there and I think the closer who closed the previous request acted prematurely before both sides can be heard. Zochaian (talk) 10:02, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Requested move 31 January 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) Jeffrey34555 (talk) 17:12, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

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Yonge–Dundas Square → Sankofa Square – the previous discussion included some botched argument about slaves in Ghana, and reached a rough consensus so I thought this can be rediscussed. This official name has been reflected in City of Toronto documentation and asset records. Reliable secondary sources have since adopted the new name in current coverage. Sources like Toronto Star, TorontoToday.ca and Toronto Life has been using this name for reporting current events. Reports on social events use this name too at woodbine.com and nowtoronto. In addition, there are posts on Youtube and Reddit 2using that name too. Under WP:OFFICIALNAME and WP:COMMONNAME, when an official name change has been enacted and is reflected in reliable, current sources, the article title should follow that usage. Given this, the article should be moved to Sankofa Square, with Yonge–Dundas Square retained as a former name in the lead and as a redirect. It's the same example like Rogers Centre here. Just because an official name wasn't liked by some people (or "everyone") at the time can't be the sole reason this article should not be renamed. Zochaian (talk) 11:33, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Close, due to User:Zochaian having opened an MRV discussion at Wikipedia:Move review/Log/2026 January#Yonge–Dundas Square. SmokeyJoe (talk) 12:12, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

Close Starting a move review and a request move for the same thing within an hour of each other is inappropriate—blindlynx 18:22, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

I have speedy closed the MRV HurricaneZeta^C 21:15, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose per consensus at 2025 RM. 162 etc. (talk) 22:38, 31 January 2026 (UTC)

  A perfect logic loop. Zochaian (talk) 01:49, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support I can see why a page move was held off on shortly after the renaming, if people wanted to see how the change played out. It's now been 5 months and secondary sources appear to primarily be using the new name. I also don't follow 162 etc.'s stated reason for opposing this move again based solely on a months-old discussion. The point of a new discussion is to re-evaluate things. If the last discussion was recent, that would be one thing, but you can't assume everyone that took part in a discussion 5 months ago would feel the same way today. It seems pretty clear that there's enough coverage of the square under it's new name for a page move to be appropriate. – OdinintheNorth (talk) 04:42, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support per nom and OdinintheNorth. —Joeyconnick (talk) 18:11, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support per nom. Alaney2k (talk) 18:14, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support — significant use of new name in media and reporting, reflecting WP:COMMONNAME shift. —WildComet ^talk 19:42, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

Support: per nom and OdinintheNorth. The new name has taken over the old one in media usage, a months old conversation about it is irrelevant to the current conversation.

Letsgetinreformation (talk) 20:56, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

Support per nom. Legowerewolf (talk) 19:21, 4 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.