Edmonton CFL team changes name to Elks; most fans don’t believe it’s necessary

The Edmonton Eskimos officially changed their team name to the Edmonton Elks yesterday. The change came after many years of sports teams with Indigenous names and imagery being condemned as insensitive.

An Angus Reid poll has confirmed that, while the majority of Canadians, 57%, supported the decision to change the name, most CFL fans (55%) did not agree the change was necessary. The poll found that Canadians less interested in the CFL were more likely to agree with the decision to change the name from Eskimos.

The survey also found that Edmonton Eagles was the most popular option of new names for all Canadians, while Edmonton Energy was most popular for Albertans.

On Monday, the CFL and all of its teams released a joint statement honouring the memory of the 215 children found on the site of the Kamloops residential school, acknowledging that there is much to be done to address the pain and injustice imposed upon Indigenous people.

For the full list of results and methodology, please visit the Angus Reid Institute website.

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