The Universite de Moncton will not be getting a new name

The board of New Brunswick's Université de Moncton has decided not to change the school's name despite concerns about its connection to a problematic historical figure.

Members of the school’s board of governors made a decision on changing the name of Université de Moncton during a meeting on Saturday.

The authors of a report that was presented to the board on Dec. 1 answered questions at Université de Moncton, but the board decided not to prolong the process of reflection and decided against changing the name.

Board of Governors chair Denis Mallet said when the school was named 60 years ago, it was in consensus with its three campuses and based on the geographical location with the main campus in Moncton and not on a historical figure.

“Acadian and French-speaking since its foundation, the Université de Moncton remains rooted in its communities, remembering history and looking to the future,” said Mallet in a news release.

The report presented by political scientist Stephanie Chouinard and historian Maurice Basque detailed the troubling legacy of Robert Monckton, a colonial British officer who took part in the deportation of Acadians in the 1700s.

According to the report, atrocities including assaults on women were committed against Acadians in what is now New Brunswick under Monckton's command.

Chouinard and Basque estimated a name change could cost as much as $4.6 million.