A movement has been rekindled in New Brunswick to shed a francophone university’s connection to Robert Monckton, a British military figure who played an active role in the imprisonment and deportation of thousands of Acadians.
The university was founded in 1966 and took the name of the City of Moncton, the location of one of its three campuses and the second-largest city in the province, after Saint John. Acadian signatories include current and former politicians, chancellors, and lawyers, as well as novelist Antonine Maillet, singer-songwriter Edith Butler, musician Zachary Richard and filmmaker Renée Blanchar.
“Is the name of our university consistent with its identity? For the signatories of this letter, the answer is an unequivocal no. You have the power to change this name to reflect the Acadian reality,” the letter says.The mayor of Caraquet, N.B., Bernard Thériault, also signed the petition. He said that as a French-speaking Acadian who graduated from Université de Moncton, it’s time for change.
He mentioned the Nova Scotia communities that removed from their property the name of former governor Edward Cornwallis, who issued a “scalping proclamation” in 1749 that offered a bounty to anyone who killed Mi’kmaq men, women or children.