Taxpayers in Toronto could be forced to pay over $400,000 in map updates for the city to rename Dundas Station to TMU Station, according to emails obtained by the Toronto Sun.

The Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) board reached a deal with Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in May of this year to rename the station as part of a broader partnership between the two entities.

The specifics of the deal are reportedly secret, but TMU is expected to offer its 'expertise' in transit operations to the TTC as part of the agreement.

The initiative stems from Toronto City Council's 2023 decision to remove the name "Dundas" from civic assets due to Henry Dundas's alleged role in delaying the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the late 1700s.

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Emails show significant tensions within the city's bureaucracy and the TTC over the exorbitant costs of changing the name of Dundas station.

In an email to the TTC, Chris Ronson of City Hall’s transportation services division wrote that “This is a significant one-time cost that (transportation services) and Bike Share have not budgeted for."

The TTC’s chief strategy and customer experience officer, Josh Colle, reportedly called it a "very contentious issue," reacting with "oh come on" to a colleague in an email when initially hearing the price figure.

“We need to address this,” he wrote to his colleague in another email, "I’m not sure why many of these things can’t just be replaced when they are naturally scheduled.”

The renaming project could run as high as $2.2 million in total (to be paid for primarily by TMU) when taking into account both Dundas Station and Dundas West Station, according to documents obtained by the Toronto Sun. The emails also suggest that the project to rename both stations could potentially cost upwards of $780,000.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has spoken out in support of the renaming project, calling Henry Dundas's actions 'horrific' and changing the name a 'priority.'