Ottawa City Council is officially moving to rename a residential street known as Trump Avenue. The move comes as tensions between the United States and Canada spiral amid a trade war that surged recently after failed negotiations. Per CNN, the council voted unanimously on Wednesday to begin the process of removing Donald Trump’s name from the thoroughfare in the Central Park neighborhood.
The street has reportedly carried that name for roughly 25 years. The neighborhood itself was designed around a New York City theme, featuring other streets like Staten Way, Madison Park, and Gotham Private. However, the political climate has clearly soured the local appetite for keeping the name in place. The urgency to ditch the name has been accelerated by Trump’s recent executive order directing the United States government to refer to Lake Ontario as Lake America.
Ottawa City Councilor Tim Tierney told CNN that the list of potential new names is growing rapidly. These include suggestions like Obama Avenue, Ontario Avenue, Canada Avenue, Beaver Avenue, Gulf of Mexico Avenue, Canada Goose Avenue, Pelosi Avenue, and even Taco Avenue, which serves as an acronym for the phrase Trump Always Chickens Out.
Political exhaustion
Interestingly, per the outlet, another option floating around is Rosie O’Donnell Avenue, a nod to the comedian and longtime Trump antagonist who moved to Ireland after his reelection. While the idea of calling a street Taco Avenue might sound humorous, the underlying reasons for the change are quite serious for those involved.
According to CBC News, the frustration with these actions has reached a breaking point for local officials. Councilor Riley Brockington reportedly expressed his stance during a recent debate regarding a motion from Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The motion was aimed at supporting local businesses impacted by tariffs the administration imposed on 28 billion dollars of Canadian exports.
Per CBC, Brockington stated, “I’m embarrassed that there is a street in River Ward called Trump Avenue, and I’m embarrassed that in the nation’s capital we have Donald Trump honoured in this respect.” He went on to add, “I think the time has come when you look at the damage and carnage that the president has caused, including with our own country. We’re past the point of debating.”
This isn’t the first time the community has wrestled with this decision. According to CNN, in 2021, the 62 households on the street were consulted about a potential name change. 21 residents voted yes, 21 voted no, and 20 chose not to participate at all. At the time, it wasn’t about politics for some. There were worries about the administrative headache of updating their home addresses and legal documents.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe acknowledged this reality to CBC, noting that changing a street name can be a significant hassle for residents who would need to update their driver’s licenses and notify all their personal and professional contacts. Despite these logistical concerns, the Mayor’s position remains firm. “If it were up to me, there would be nothing named after Donald Trump in Ottawa,” the Mayor said.
Some residents living on the street are reportedly fully on board with the change. John Germano, who resides on the street, put it quite bluntly when he told CBC, “It’s embarrassing for everyone. Anything related to this person, take it right out of Ottawa, bring it right back down or put a tariff on it and send it back.”
Another resident, Rana Usman, agreed, stating, “Trump has had a lot of problems with Canada. He’s not something special [in] Canada, and he doesn’t deserve to have a street named after him.” Not everyone is convinced, however. Doug Gimmer, another local resident, reportedly argued, “The name ‘Trump’ is in keeping with the New York theme of the area [of] Central Park.” He also suggested that the council’s time would be better spent focusing on other municipal issues.
Tierney clarified to CNN that more than half of the residents would need to support the change, and any new name would have to move through a formal public engagement process. These steps aren’t expected to happen until after the October municipal elections.
“The semantics of names, we can save that for another day in the future,” Tierney told CNN. “Right now, I think our focus has to remain on trade and tariffs, something that this is just nothing more than a distraction from.” He concluded with a direct plea, stating, “We see the president doing something the same and it’s tired. Stop with the lame name game and let’s get back to the table.”
As it stands, Canada has several other locations bearing the Trump name, including a lake in northern Ontario. However, Trump Avenue is the only one specifically named after the president himself.
Published: Aug 29, 2026 09:55 am