Ottawa city council will vote later this month on a motion to remove U.S. President Donald Trump’s name from a residential street in Canada’s capital.
Trump Avenue is one of several streets in Ottawa’s Central Park neighbourhood that references New York City. Other street names include Madison Park, Manhattan Crescent and Staten Street.
Coun. Riley Brockington introduced a motion on Wednesday asking council to approve renaming Trump Avenue.
If approved on Sept. 23, the motion would direct Brockington to lead a public consultation process with households on Trump Avenue to nominate a new street name that meets the city’s street naming policies, “which may retain a New York City theme or propose a name that deviates from that theme.”
In the motion, Brockington said the Trump Avenue name “would not meet any of the criteria had it gone through a formal commemorative naming process.”
Last month, Brockington told council he was “embarrassed that there is a street in River Ward called Trump Avenue.”
The motion comes as the U.S.-Canada trade war continues to ramp up, with Canada imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods on Tuesday. In response, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders to ban certain Canadian products and imposing new tariffs, including blocking the import of motorcycles, certain dairy products and a wide range of alcoholic beverages.
In 2021, residents of Trump Avenue voted on the possibility of changing the street name. The vote ended in a 21-21 tie, with 20 households abstaining.
The City of Ottawa’s policy requires approval of at least 50 per cent plus one to change the name on a street.
The Alta Vista ward is home to several streets that share the names of U.S. states, including Virginia Drive, Michigan Avenue, Arizona Avenue, Florida Avenue, Illinois Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Connecticut Avenue and Utah Street.
In a post on Facebook, Coun. Marty Carr said she would not ask residents about changing the residential street names.
“I will continue to encourage you to please support local — we have some amazing local businesses here in the ward, including some micro-businesses,” Carr said.
