Egerton Ryerson's portrait hidden in U of T library as his legacy sparks debate

During a recent visit to Victoria University at the University of Toronto, the author discovered Egerton Ryerson’s portrait hidden at the end of a hallway in the E.J. Pratt Library, after it was taken down from the principal’s foyer in 2021 for “security reasons.” The school’s online history page no longer references Ryerson, whose name was previously attached to the institution now called Toronto Metropolitan University, whose statue was toppled and beheaded in June 2021 amid protests linking him to Indian residential schools.

While activists cite a 1847 letter suggesting a model for Indigenous agricultural schooling, historians such as Patrice Dutil and Ronald Stagg contend that Ryerson was a pioneer of public education, publishing, and cultural foundations in Canada. A 2019 commissioned report recommended removing his name from honors, leading to the renaming of Ryerson House to First House and the issuance of further reports by the Standing Strong Task Force accusing him of enabling discriminatory education.

University leaders, including outgoing president Rhonda McEwen, have defended keeping the portrait as a gesture toward dialogue rather than cancellation, though critics say earlier reports contain factual errors. The episode illustrates the ongoing struggle over how Canada remembers historical figures linked to colonial education policies.