OTTAWA -- Residents of a west-side Ottawa neighbourhood are looking to distance themselves from the controversy of the former president of the United States and have called upon their area councillor to help rename their street.
In the neighbourhood of Central Park—not the one in New York City, but the community just to the west of Merivale Road—you will notice many references that point to the Big Apple.
There is a Madison Park, a Manhattan Crescent, a Staten Street, and a Trump Avenue.
It's the latter that has residents asking for a change.
The real estate magnate was synonymous with the Big Apple but the last four years of his presidency has homeowners losing their taste for the name.
Mitchell Wrona moved onto Trump Avenue last year and said that he found it a little bit funny, at the time. Now, he says he understands why the name might be offensive.
This isn't the first time people have wanted to remove Trump's name from Ottawa's road map. Neighbours called for a name change in 2016, as well.
Bonnie Bowering, who has lived on Trump Avenue for 12 years, says it was more of a musing at the time, but times have changed.
"He didn't accept the election results and he incited an insurrection," says Bowering. "Do we really want in Ottawa, in Canada's capital, a street named Trump?"
Residents asked Coun. Riley Brockington to help them take action. On Saturday, Brockington hand-delivered flyers to each house, asking homeowners whether or not to move forward.
The city requires 50 per cent plus one to initiate the change. Brockington says, if the answer is in favour, he will put together a local committee and new names can be submitted for review.
"Certainly there's an appetite for change," says Brockington. "We have to formally apply to the city, that goes through a process, and council will have to approve the new street name."
The hope is that it could take as little as six months to finalize the deal and fire the old name.
Also a fun fact about Trump Avenue: there are 62 homes on the street, which happens to be the number of lawsuits the former president and his allies filed in state and federal courts seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.
