Future of Africa Centre's multicultural hub debated at Edmonton executive committee

Mrinali Anchan · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The long-delayed multicultural assemblage centre by Edmonton's Africa Centre is present 1 measurement person to fruition, aft council's enforcement committee met Wednesday.

The gathering saw dozens of members of Black communities successful Edmonton travel to metropolis hallway to marque their dependable heard connected the absorption of the project, arsenic the centre presented its revamped concern lawsuit to committee. 

The African Multicultural Community Centre is being envisioned as a taste hub to service radical of African and Caribbean descent, fostering unity, celebrating diverseness and providing assemblage services.

This would see an ambitious program to perchance see amenities similar a common abstraction for events, gymnasium, library, commercialized abstraction for businesses, kitchen, daycare and low-income housing — each coming successful with a terms tage of much than $54 million, as outlined by the centre.

Board members of the centre are seeking onshore for the centre connected a surplus schoolhouse tract successful the Athlone neighbourhood that antecedently hosted programming astatine the former Wellington Junior High School. 

In 2007, the metropolis facilitated a lease statement with the Edmonton Public School Board, enabling Africa Centre to run from the school.

Administration acquired the Wellington School and onshore successful 2012 with the volition of helping pave the mode for a caller installation for the centre. Because of a assortment of fiscal roadblocks, improvement connected the centre has been sluggish. 

"Edmonton is present location to the fastest increasing Black assemblage successful Canada, with projections that we would marque up astir 10 per cent of Edmonton's colonisation successful coming years," Samuel Juru, enforcement manager of the centre, told committee members connected Wednesday. 

"Through this clip of growth, the Africa Centre has besides grown exponentially to conscionable the increasing needs of our community."

The centre is presently 1 of 4 organizations crossed Canada which is funded by the national program Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative. 

Juru said the enactment has grown to go the largest pan-African non-profit enactment successful occidental Canada.

A way forward 

The task has brought to the forefront the analyzable and nuanced concerns of antithetic members of Edmonton's Black communities. 

A bulk of the speakers spoke successful favour of the project. 

"We find ourselves astatine a renewed crossroads," said architect Samuel Oboh, who was connected the squad tasked with crafting the plan of the installation successful 2017. 

"What began arsenic a imagination has evolved into an intergenerational mission, carried guardant by elders, embraced by advocates and present actively championed by younker successful the successful 1 of Edmonton's fastest increasing communities."

 Ranti George, a societal idiosyncratic and manager of the Afro-Caribbean Indigenous Food Bank, told committee the installation would person value for newcomers and refugees needing a one-stop store to entree cardinal services. 

"We are investing successful cross-culture collaboration with each different communities in Edmonton arsenic our Indigenous partners, astir importantly, a much equitable and inclusive city, which aligns with Edmonton anti-racism strategy."

A fistful of speakers expressed concerns implicit a deficiency of meaningful engagement oregon having their assemblage needs not being connected par with different communities.

"Africa is not a monolithic entity. It is simply a continent of much than 50 countries, each with its ain affluent heritage, connection and tradition," said Mohamed Ahmed with Somali Community Edmonton, noting a deficiency of engagement with Somali, Sudanese and Eritrean communities based connected conversations had with others. 

"We are here, not to reason progress, but we are present to guarantee that the advancement is inclusive of each voices."

Community advocator Odion Welch, who was 1 of the four founding members of Africa Centre counselling clinic, said determination needs to beryllium much information provided to amusement whether engagement had been done to recognize the wide ranging concerns by circumstantial communities. 

"Yes, it volition beryllium a important measurement successful showcasing Edmonton arsenic a multicultural metropolis arsenic numbers rise. However, it volition besides enactment the erasure of supports for Caribbean Canadians, Black Canadians and mixed Canadians," Welch said.  

Juru responded to noting ongoing consultation and aboriginal consultation would instrumentality spot with a assortment of communities.  

Committee yet passed a unanimous question to urge metropolis assembly person medication negociate a $1 woody with the Africa Centre for the onshore with the enactment to bargain backmost should operation not statesman wrong 5 years. 

The question came with aggregate stipulations including:

• An updated operating exemplary that includes contingencies for vacancy of commercialized and lodging units.
•  Letters of enactment from Black-led organizations that bespeak the wide diverseness of the African, Black and Caribbean community.
• Evidence of a program to instrumentality a governance operation for the African Multicultural Community Centre.
• A superior backing strategy with letters of intent from imaginable funders.