Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is one of the oldest and largest universities in Canada. It is a leading institution of research, knowledge, and influence. In many ways, U of T uses its power and influence to develop and advance the knowledge of its students. As a school that praises itself on its progressive and liberal values, it takes surprisingly little digging to find the ways in which the wrong side of history continues to be preserved throughout the institution. Through the memorialization of prominent historical figures, U of T continues to uphold racist and ignorant ideologies, including legacies of residential schools.  

The university holds an undeniable connection to residential schools. Historically, it is an institution that has informally upheld the residential school system across the country. The downtown campus was an active recruitment and training ground for workers in residential schools and Indigenous communities, a history that stretches back to the late 1800s. In an 1886 lecture series at Victoria College, Reverend Charles S. Eby spoke about the missionary problem, calling for upstanding young educated men to join the missionary cause: “Let the best of our young men win their spurs on home missions … Even our Indian missions should be manned by a selection of strong men …” Similar pleas were made throughout the following years. Although these ties were informal, the university administrators never discouraged such lectures and recruitment. In many cases, they were encouraged. 

In 2020, the University of Toronto no longer shares such ties to the upholding of residential schools. It does, however, honor those who promoted it. From my bedroom window, I can see one of the ways that U of T still upholds these beliefs: Woodsworth College.

Established in 1974, Woodsworth College is one of the first residence buildings that you’ll see as you enter through the northern gateway to the campus. Its ideal location and design makes the college an attractive choice for many first years. As their website proudly states, the building gets its name from the historic James Shaver Woodsworth, a minister, pacifist, social activist, and member of parliament who advocated for education for all. 

Along with this impressive resume, Woodsworth is also the well-known author of Strangers Within Our Gates, a book published by the missionary society in 1909. What is less known, or rather willfully ignored, is the hateful, racist speech found within. The book is filled with material that deserves more attention than it is currently receiving, including the classification of people based on their visible racial characteristics and places of origin. The book includes various charts, graphs, and other quantifying methods laying out a hierarchy between races and countries of origin, ranking variables such as physical health, intelligence, morals, criminal record, and the ability to assimilate. 

According to Woodsworth’s book, “We need more of our own blood to assist us to maintain in Canada our British traditions and to mould the incoming armies of foreigners into loyal British subjects.” He also expressed a strong rejection of the English poor, stating that “we sympathise with these poor people, but we are glad that the Canadian Government is taking steps to prevent the ‘dumping’ of these unfortunates into Canada … We must express the fear that any large immigration of this class will lead to the degeneration of our Canadian people.” 

Woodsworth also held strong opinions on immigrants coming from Asia, arguing that, “Perhaps, for some time, a limited number of Orientals may be advantageous. But it does seem that the exclusionists are right in their contention that laborers working and living as Orientals do, will displace European laborers.” Woodsworth frequently claimed that immigrants from Asia hold  “non-assimilable elements,” spouting hateful rhetoric that clings to the idea that Asian immigrants “are clearly detrimental to our highest national development.” Although this use of language, as well as the philosophies that support such words, are disgusting, I want to focus this article on Woodsworth relation to the residential school system. 

Chapter 16 of Woodsworth’s book, titled “The n—— and the Indian” is a short, four-page addition that acts as the only major reference to black and Indigenous people throughout the whole book. 

His discussion of black and Indigenous people in a book about immigration seems out of place, but Woodsworth defends his choice by stating that, “They are so entirely different from the ordinary white population that some mention of them is necessary if we would understand the complexity of our problems. We group them merely because both stand out entirely by themselves.” 

Concerning Indigenous people, Woodsworth promotes Christian campaigning, education, and assimilation as the only hope for these “savages.” 

“Much missionary work, evangelistic, educational, industrial and medical, has been done among the Indians. Many are devout Christians living exemplary lives, but there are still 10, 202 Indians in our Dominion, as grossly pagan as were their ancestors, or…half civilized, only to be debauched.”

In one of his papers, titled “Problems in Indian Education in Canada,” Woodsworth advocated for the residential school system, viewing it as a positive contribution to assimilation.

“The residential school during these years has been a most effective and efficient instrument in the process of assimilation. The development of the residential school from the white man’s standpoint has been rapid and satisfactory. For the most part, its work has been steady and practical, giving the children a wholesome, healthy home …”

Such language was not uncommon in the age of residential schools. White politicians praised the residential school system as a means of dismissing the truth and undermining the horrors that occurred within the system. Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes, forbidden to speak their languages or practice their culture, and experienced severe neglect, sexual and physical abuse, and starvation. It speaks to the character of Woodsworth, as well as to the larger culture of the time, that he described a system of cultural genocide as satisfactory “from the white man’s standpoint.”

While U of T informally supported residential schools through the campus-based training and recruitment, it is now formally supporting those ideologies through the glorification of a man who actively encouraged their existence. Woodsworth does not have a small plaque by a water fountain or a painting in a lecture hall. He is memorialized by one of the most prominent colleges on the downtown campus. 

The renaming of a building and a college is not easy, but similar initiatives are being taken and succeeding elsewhere on campus. At U of T, the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) has worked hard to rename the Vic One Education stream, which, until 2019, was named after Egerton Ryerson due to his involvement in the creation of the residential school system. According to the Varsity, Ryerson created the outline for the residential school system, which resulted in the forced relocation of approximately 150,000 Indigenous children between 1880 and 1996. Woodsworth College must learn from the VUSAC, who rightfully claimed that “the man [Ryerson] has no place being celebrated in this age of truth and reconciliation.”

One may argue that Woodsworth was a product of his time, that he was simply a part of a much larger culture that allowed such atrocities. I agree, there is some truth in that. However, we are no longer living in Woodsworth’s time and we have no right to promote his views. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves about our past, especially those derived from the misused privilege of people like Woodsworth. By continuing to name Woodsworth College after a man who so adamantly supported the residential school system, we formally uphold his ideologies and beliefs. Men like Woodsworth must be remembered, but never glorified.