Photo credit: The New York Times
A street in Ottawa is changing its name thanks to the ongoing trade war between Canada and the US.
The Independent reports that “Trump Avenue” in Ottawa’s Central Park district was named after Donald Trump long before he became the President of the United States, as New York icons adorn street signs throughout the neighbourhood, CTV News reported.
Now, though, his namesake is being removed after his aggressive tariff policies and threats to turn Canada into “The 51st State” created a widening rift between the two countries.
“I could speak at great length [about] 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 blacked,” said River Ward Councillor Riley Brockington.
The councillor explained that residents initiated the motion to rename the street to distance themselves from the US president.
“I do believe this is about a new beginning, and I want this to be a community-led process where the community will select and recommend to city council what that new name will be,” he added
The motion was passed unanimously by Ottawa City Council this week, and the new name of the street is now up for a vote among Trump Avenue residents.
“I don’t like the idea of anything that’s named for Donald Trump, who has demonstrated hostility towards Canada,” Ottawa’s mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, said after the motion was approved.
The move comes a month after Trump signed an order to change Lake Ontario to “Lake America”, much like when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
The president’s trade war with Ottawa began when he implemented tariffs on Canadian imports after returning to office last year.
However, it has proved to be hugely unpopular on both sides of the border, with a new poll showing the majority of Americans and Canadians disapprove.
According to POLITICO, 83 per cent of Canadians say Trump’s tariffs are a bad policy, compared to just eight per cent who approve. In the US, 56 per cent of Americans said Trump was wrong to impose tariffs, compared to just 26 per cent who support them, the poll found.
Given the hostilities with the US, Canada and the European Union are working on an arrangement together to create an “:associate member” role for the North American country within the European economic bloc.
Speaking about the need for this arrangement, Canadian finance minister François-Philippe said: “The world has changed. America has changed. So we need to change.”
