The Mathieu Da Costa challenge was a national essay and art contest. It relied on traditional media for students to prepare a tight hard-copy document and/or actual artwork that would be submitted.
With the advent of social media, and it being easy to work with, with desktop publishing, and just the ability.... With the digital cameras that may be available in most schools, or may even be in the personal possession of many students, it's certainly possible that it could be.... Well, they ended it. But it's something that could have continued, but perhaps using more contemporary media in order to produce a result.
It remains important to affirm Mathieu Da Costa, because he's the earliest named African we know about in Canada. That doesn't mean he's the first African in Canada or the first black person in the west.
I'm not sure if the name needed to be changed. Maybe it's the format, the media, and the nature of the technology that could have been adjusted.