Colonization road name changes in progress in northwestern Ontario

Colonization Avenue in Dryden, Ont., will officially have a new name as of June 21, 2021.

City councillors voted on Monday night to change the name of the southern portion of the road to Memorial Avenue, and the northern section of the street to Boozhoo Avenue.

The names were chosen by the Working Circle, a committee of council, which sorted through 400 suggested names for the street.

"I am proud of the support and encouragement of the overwhelming majority of Dryden residents in this change and I believe that support is reflected in the decision of Council tonight," said Shayne MacKinnon, a city councillor and co-chair of the Working Circle, in a statement.

"Dryden is moving forward by showing that it is never too late to do the right thing." 

The decision comes after a recommendation was put to the city in January of this year to change the name of the road.

A similar process is underway in Fort Frances, with that community wrapping up public consultation on the name change of its Colonization Road.

The final engagement session was held on Monday night, virtually, as part of the regular town council meeting.

"We had over 20 people in the meeting in total, and during that meeting we didn't have anybody speak for or against," said Cody Vangel, chief building official and municipal planner in Fort Frances.

Vangel said the town advertised the process in the local paper, through mailouts, on the town website, and through social media.

The community went through a month of public consultation, he said, with suggested names for the road being accepted by a committee until noon on Thursday.

Those names will then be considered by the committee, with a recommendation then made to council, Vangel said.