City Council votes to rename Northeast False Creek with indigenous name

Artistic rendering of Northeast False Creek. (Concord Pacific / DIALOG)

Downtown Vancouver’s Northeast False Creek area will be given a new indigenous name.

Late this morning, a proposed amendment to the Northeast False Creek Plan by Vision Vancouver Councillor Andrea Reimer calling for the renaming of the district was unanimously approved by Vancouver City Council today.

Reimer said this was consistent with Council’s support for “repatriating” indigenous place names, and would acknowledge how the First Nations used the lands prior to industrialization.

With the approval, City staff will engage in discussions with the local First Nations – Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Wautuh – on a new indigenous name.

“[I’m] happy to see this general action to make sure we address the names that formerly existed among our First Nations here. I think it’s a great opportunity,” added Mayor Gregor Robertson.

“We’ve got Northeast False Creek, Southeast False Creek, False Creek Flats… we’ve got enough directions around False Creek. It’s about time we get to the names that have many generations of history before False Creek was named.”

Green Party Councillor Adrianne Carr also suggested that the recognition should go even further by creating a design for the 11-acre Creekside Park expansion that reflects and “accommodates” the First Nations.

This was followed later in the day by City Council’s approval of the $1.7-billion Northeast False Creek Plan, which includes the $360-million demolition of the viaducts and the creation of a new ground-level road network, $603 million in affordable housing, and over $700 million in public amenities and park space. Several other amendments to the plan were also approved.

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