FAQs

The original motion, passed by Council in July 2022, contained the following statements as background and reasons to rebrand the City of New Westminster: 

• The City of New Westminster has a vision to be a vibrant, compassionate, sustainable city that includes everyone; and
• The City is committed to building a community that is equitable, inclusive and welcoming; and
• The City embraces reconciliation as a path forward to charting a new relationship with Indigenous people and Nations; and
• It is important that the City’s branding be consistent with our shared values, vision and diverse make up of our city. 

Click here to view a recording of this Council meeting.

No. The rebranding process for the corporate logo does not include changing the name of the City. It only includes a redesign to the graphic elements of the brand. The City will remain as the Corporation of New Westminster, and the new logo will reflect this.

The City of New Westminster currently uses a logo that features a gold crown above the words "New Westminster" in a serif font. The current logo was adopted in 2008 for use across the organization and replaced the use of the City’s Coat of Arms as the previous logo. The adoption of the City’s current logo coincided with the City taking a more formal approach to corporate communications with the creation of a communications division. With this, the crown logo began to appear on corporate letterhead, City notices, entrance signage, digital billboard assets, City vehicles, and uniforms.

In 2009, the crown logo and icon itself received trademark with the Canadian Trademark Database, which legally formalized the City’s ownership of the crown logo and icon, and its related use and application.

While the City (historically), as well as several local organizations and private businesses, have prominently featured this moniker, to staff’s knowledge it has never been adopted for formal use by the City of New Westminster. It has been used infrequently by the City over the past decade, and is no longer used in formal City communications or messaging.

An update to the City’s logo will have no effect on the use, or ability to use, “Royal City” as a name or term by business, organizations or other groups in New Westminster.

Staff estimate the project expenses to develop a new corporate logo will be approximately $40,000. This includes the cost of the graphic design firm to develop the new logo and branding, any direct expenses to deliver public engagement, and all the templates and other tools the graphic design firm will produce for the City. This project budget was approved by Council in the City’s 2024 Operating Budget.

The implementation of the new logo will take place gradually. This will allow for rebranding costs to be absorbed within existing departmental budgets. This means things like re-decaling vehicles and signage, and replacing uniforms, stationary, and other branded materials will take place over time with new products only ordered as existing stocks are depleted and/or replacements are required.

The working group includes seven residents who represent a diversity of ages, neighbourhoods, housing tenure, length of residency in New Westminster, and perspectives about the current logo.

Applicants for the Community Advisory Assembly who were not selected to join the Assembly were invited to apply for the logo working group. Twenty-five applications were received, and staff from Communications and Public Engagement worked together to select a diversity of demographics and perspectives from this applicant pool. Seven residents who represent a mix of ages, neighborhoods, housing situations, how long they've lived in New Westminster, and views on the current logo were selected to join the group. One of the seven seats is dedicated for an Indigenous resident.

Acting as a subset of the wider New West community, the working group has been collaborating with City staff to guide the process to develop a new City logo, by helping identify engagement questions and activities for community-wide engagement. 

Following the broad community engagement, the group will reconvene to review and provide feedback on design themes for a new logo, ensuring that community voices and perspectives have been incorporated into the design.

A Request for Proposals for a graphic designer was conducted in February and March 2024. The City received 21 proposals from graphic design firms across Canada. Following the evaluation process, Ion Brand Design, an experienced firm based in Vancouver, was selected. Click here to learn more about Ion Brand Design.

Thank you for your enthusiasm! While we appreciate your interest in contributing design ideas, the new logo will be developed by professional graphic designers based on input from the community. We encourage you to participate in the engagement activities and share your thoughts and ideas, which will help guide the designers in creating a logo that represents our community.