Let's not allow cancel culture to erase Oliver without a vote
Ask residents what they want, says David W. Leonard.
I recently attended a gathering of the Oliver Community League in celebration of its 100th anniversary. It was outwardly a pleasant affair, but, behind the scenes, there was one overriding theme, what a terrible man was Frank Oliver. Upon speaking to league members, it was apparent that few of them knew who Frank Oliver was, or what he had accomplished. This seemed odd since the league's own official history proclaims, “few early Edmonton figures have so inspired loyalty.”
The most common expressed opinion was that Oliver was a racist. In actuality, with respect to race, he was no different than any other Euro-canadian newcomer. In his newspaper, The Bulletin, he made some very disparaging remarks about Indigenous people, the main cause of his paper being to encourage more white settlement, particularly of the British variety. In 1896, he was elected to Parliament as an independent Liberal for the riding of Alberta, and soon became the western confidant of the new prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier. He also became the most influential politician in Western Canada, working to have both the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railways brought through Edmonton.
In April 1905, Oliver was made minister of the interior, responsible for all developments on the western prairies, and worked directly with Laurier on the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan as separate provinces. He also made sure that Edmonton, and not the larger Calgary, would be named Alberta's capital.
In actuality, with respect to race, (Oliver) was no different than any other Euro-canadian newcomer.
During these years, while Oliver was mainly in Ottawa, he turned management of the Edmonton Bulletin over to one Duncan Marshall. Ironically, while Marshall was decrying the import of “men in sheepskin coats” from eastern Europe into Canada, Oliver, his boss, was overseeing the rapid expansion of eastern European settlement in the West.
According to historian Frances Swyripa, between 1896 and 1914, over 170,000 people migrated here from Ukraine alone, let alone Poland, Russia, Germany, Hungary and elsewhere. During 1910-11, Oliver oversaw the establishment of two Black communities in Alberta, at Breton and Amber Valley. When questioned about the desirability of Black immigration, he replied, “Negroes get the same rights as anybody else.” (Hansard,
April 3, 1911). This view was often repeated with respect to eastern Europeans.
Part of the lack of understanding of Oliver stems from the fact there has been no comprehensive biography of the man, one reason being that his personal papers do not seem to have survived. The best attempt at a bio is a master's thesis undertaken by William Waddell in 1950, a simple, straightforward account of the man.
This brings us back to the directors of the Oliver Community League and their insistence that the name “Oliver” be obliterated from public places. In fact, city Councillor Anne Stevenson has indicated that a decision has already been made, the community will be renamed.
If, instead, a decision has not been made, then council should consult the people of Oliver by way of a referendum in the district, as, I am sure, less than two per cent of us actually belong to the league.
On the other hand, should a cancel-culture policy be adopted by council, citizens of the city should be prepared for a barrage of name changes in the cause of political correctness. After all, Lord Strathcona, Alexander Rutherford, Matt Mccauley, William Whyte, Malcolm Groat, John Fraser, John Mcdougall, John Walter and many others whose names grace public places were every bit as racist as Frank Oliver.