NCC votes to rename the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa

The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway will be renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan.

The National Capital Commission's board of directors approved the new name for the federally-owned road along the Ottawa River in Ottawa's west end.

Kichi Zībī Mīkan means "Great River Road." The NCC says the name was chosen based on an Indigenous naming and engagement exercise.

A presentation to the board of directors says the new name returns it to the original name of the river, supports language revitalization and fosters the sense of place and sense of connections.

"The name honours the profound significance of the river, shoreline and landscape to the Algonquin Nation," the NCC said in a statement.

Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Chief Dylan Whiteduck says they've been advocating for the past 10 years to change the name of the parkway.

"I think it’s a very good step with the NCC to move forward with a name change like this," Whiteduck told CTV News Ottawa.

"I've got to applaud all the chiefs, all those who were involved in trying to move this file forward to get the renaming of the John A. Macdonald Parkway."

The scenic route was known for years as the Ottawa River Parkway. In 2012, the former Conservative government renamed the road after Canada's first prime minister.

Macdonald oversaw the creation of Canada's residential school system in the late 1800s. An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend the schools throughout the last century, where many were abused and died. The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996.

In 2021, three Ottawa city councillors wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to change the name of the parkway after ground-penetrating radar located some 200 suspected unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C.

The NCC's board of directors voted in January to give the road an Indigenous name, saying it would reflect "the longstanding and important relationship of the Algonquin Nation to the Ottawa River along which the parkway runs."

NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum says it was "very important" for the NCC to change the name.

"I think it was key given that there had been a clear request from them to consider the connection between the river and the Indigenous history in the area," Nussbaum said.

A signage unveiling ceremony will be held in September, to align with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.

"It's going to be nice to hear it on the radio one day that's there's traffic on Kichi Zibi," Whiteduck said.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Jeremie Charron and Ted Raymond