The Ottawa city council made a decision on Wednesday to change the name of a street that has been named after U. S. President Donald Trump for over 20 years.
River ward Coun. Riley Brockington proposed renaming Trump Avenue during the Sept. 9 city council meeting, stating that Trump doesn’t deserve such an honor considering his ongoing threats toward Canada.
His motion was passed without any comments from other council members, with Brockington expressing it was time for a fresh start for the residents living on that street.
Brockington mentioned he will be leading a public consultation process to choose a new name for the road in the Central Park area off Merivale Road, which already features other New York City-themed names like Bloomingdale Street and Staten Way.
Brockington suggested that the new name for Trump Avenue could align with that theme.
This motion followed Trump’s imposition of tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Canadian goods and his order to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America. In response, Canada has implemented tariffs equivalent to those on U. S. imports.
A previous attempt to rename Trump Avenue back in 2021 didn’t succeed after feedback showed that residents were divided on the issue, with many who opposed it voicing concerns about having to change their home addresses.
This concern still lingers for some residents.
“We really don’t care about American politics. We really just think of this as a street name. And we would rather just keep it the way it is, not because we support Trump, but because it’s a huge hassle,” said Dale Hammond.
Residents of Trump Avenue Deanne Walters and Becca Sprague say they are pleased the name will change. (Frédéric Pepin/CBC)
Other residents agreed with the decision.
“I think it’s worth it considering the political environment of the world right now,” said Becca Sprague.
“We almost didn’t really wanna move here because of the name. But we love it here so the [new] name will make it even better,” said Deanne Walters.
A working group will be established to discuss options, according to Brockington. The aim is to have a new name ready for the next city council vote by April, May or June next year.
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