A recent decision by the Cape Breton Gaelic College to add the word “Royal” to the school’s name has caused backlash due to historical wounds among descendants of Scottish immigrants in Nova Scotia.
Alex Morrison, then chairman of the Board of Governors, announced the royal designation, a special honour from Queen Elizabeth II, on Dec. 6 to mark its 75th anniversary year.
Allan MacMaster, a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly for Inverness, and the Conservative critic on Gaelic affairs, said while he has “no ill will towards Queen Elizabeth II or the royal family,” it was inappropriate for the board to request the title.
“Knowing who my people were and what they went through at the hands of the Crown . . . doesn’t make me want to have a school named after [the Crown],” he said.
After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the Highland clan system was broken by the British government army.
During the Highland Clearances, when farmers were evicted from their land to make space for sheep, many Gaels emigrated mostly to Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Kirk MacRae, the acting chairman of the Board of Governors at the college, said the board has had “conversations” in reaction to the public response, but they have not had any “dealings pertaining to this in the last four or five weeks.”
Ernie MacAulay, a member of the Board of Governors, said in a post on the college’s official Facebook page that he believed the board made a mistake.
“My hope, now, is that we can reverse this decision and can somehow gracefully withdraw from using the ‘Royal’ name,” he said in the post.
While there are no plans to reverse the change, MacMaster said he expects there will be a vote with members of the college in the new year.
