Ottawa council moves to rename Trump Avenue
The move comes amid heightened trade tensions between Canada and the United States and repeated criticism of Canada by Trump
Ottawa City Council has unanimously voted to take the first step towards renaming Trump Avenue, a residential street in the city's Central Park neighbourhood that has carried US President Donald Trump's name for roughly 25 years.
The move comes amid heightened trade tensions between Canada and the United States and repeated criticism of Canada by Trump. The dispute recently extended to the naming of Lake Ontario, after Trump signed an executive order directing the US government to refer to it as "Lake America".
Among the replacement names proposed by residents and council members are "Obama Avenue", "Rosie O'Donnell Avenue" and "Taco Avenue". The latter is a satirical reference to the phrase "Trump Always Chickens Out".
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The proposed change faces several procedural hurdles before the street could receive a new name.
More than half of the 62 households on Trump Avenue must support the change before the proposal can proceed to a public engagement process.
A previous attempt to rename the street in 2021 ended in a deadlock, with 21 residents voting in favour, 21 against and 20 not voting. Some residents who opposed the change cited the administrative burden of changing their addresses.
No final decision on the proposed renaming is expected before Ottawa's municipal elections, scheduled for the end of October.
Ottawa City Councillor Tim Tierney said the debate over the street's name should not distract from broader economic issues between Canada and the United States.
He urged leaders to "stop with the lame name game" and focus on trade and tariff negotiations.
