A street in Canada’s capital bearing the name of the current U.S. president will be renamed. Ottawa city council unanimously agreed to a motion to begin the process of renaming Trump Avenue, in Ottawa’s Central Park neighbourhood. Trump Avenue is one of several streets in Central Park that references New York City. Other street names include Madison Park, Manhattan Crescent, Bloomingdale Street, and Staten Street. At the time of the neighbourhood’s development, Trump was a famous real estate mogul, but his tumultuous time as president of the United States has led to renewed calls to take his name off street signs in the capital. The motion directs River Ward Coun. Riley 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. The new name may retain a New York City theme, or residents could propose a name that deviates from that theme. The new name would be brought to city council for approval some time next year. “As you may appreciate, since I came to office, there have been a number of requests from Trump Avenue residents, residents within Central Park and across our city, and frankly beyond, that would like to see the City of Ottawa engage in a street renaming process,” Brockington told councillors on Wednesday. “I could speak at great length why I believe strongly it is time to rename Trump Avenue, but I don’t want to give a platform anymore to the person who is on the current street sign blades. I do believe this is about a new beginning, and I want this to be a community-led process where the community ultimately will select and recommend to city council what that new name will be.” The motion comes amid a tariff war between Canada and the U.S. Trump has levied significant tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Canadian exports, with Canada responding in kind. Trump then directed federal agencies overseeing government procurement in the United States to remove all products of Canadian origin. This week, Trump announced he was working on a deal to buy potash from Belarus instead of Canada. His current term has also been filled with repeated references about making Canada the “51st State,” which Canadian leaders have roundly condemned. This is not the first time this issue has come up. In Trump’s first term as U.S. president, 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, meaning the street name was not changed. Brockington said he will form a working group with three to five residents, and will look at a number of New York City street-themed options, as well as options that have no connection with New York City, which will be presented to Trump Avenue residents to vote on. “And if we need to have a meeting, we need to talk this out, there’s sufficient time to do that. I’m prepared to invest the necessary time,” he said. “It is time for the City of Ottawa to rename Trump Avenue.”
