This is the proposed new name for Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway
The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa's west end will be renamed Kichi Zībī Mīkan, if approved by the National Capital Commission's board of directors.
In a letter to Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Chief Dylan Whiteduck, NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum says community members from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and the Algonquins of the Pikwakanagan First Nation have reached a consensus on a new name.
Nussbaum says he will recommend the board of directors approve the new name Kichi Zībī Mīkan at its meeting on June 22.
"I am thankful for the generosity of the participants, who shared views, stories and cultural references about the area, highlighting the profound connection the Algonquin Anishinabeg maintain with the river and surroundings," Nussbaum said.
"If approved by the board, NCC staff will work with both Algonquin communities to plan an unveiling ceremony this fall."
The letter was published in the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg weekly newsletter on Friday. An NCC spokesperson confirmed the proposed new name for the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway is Kichi Zībī Mīkan.
Kichi Zībī means great river in the Algonquin language, while mīkan is "road" or "path".
The NCC's board of directors voted in January to give a new Indigenous name to the road named after Canada's first prime minister, "Reflecting the longstanding and important relationship of the Algonquin Nation to the Ottawa River along which the parkway runs."
The NCC conducted consultations with Indigenous partners and the public.
The former Conservative government renamed the Ottawa River Parkway the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in 2012.
In 2021, three Ottawa councillors wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call on the federal government to change the name of the parkway following the discovery of a suspected mass grave at the site of a former residential school in British Columbia.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.