Ottawa City Council has begun considering a proposal to change the name of Trump Avenue, a residential street in the Canadian capital, with alternatives including “Obama Avenue” and “Taco Avenue.”
Councillors voted unanimously on Wednesday to begin the process of renaming the street, which has carried US President Donald Trump’s name for about 25 years.
Trump Avenue is located in Ottawa’s Central Park neighbourhood, an area with several street names linked to New York City, including Staten Way, Madison Park and Gotham Private.
The latest push to change the name comes amid worsening relations between Canada and the United States, particularly over trade disputes and Trump’s repeated criticism of Canada.
Ottawa City Councillor Tim Tierney said several possible replacement names had been suggested, including Obama Avenue, Ontario Avenue, Canada Avenue, Beaver Avenue, Gulf of Mexico Avenue, Canada Goose Avenue, Pelosi Avenue and Taco Avenue.
The proposed “Taco Avenue” is a reference to the phrase “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Another suggestion was Rosie O’Donnell Avenue, named after the comedian and longtime Trump critic.
The debate comes shortly after Trump signed an executive order directing the US government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” following his earlier decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
Canada has several other locations bearing the Trump name, including Trump Lake in northern Ontario, as well as islands and a creek.
However, Tierney said Trump Avenue is the only one specifically named after Donald Trump.
A name change is unlikely to happen immediately. More than half of the residents on the street would have to support the proposal before the process could move forward, followed by a separate public consultation on a replacement name.
The matter is also not expected to progress until after Ottawa’s municipal elections in late October.
This is not the first attempt to change the street’s name.
In 2021, the 62 households living along Trump Avenue were asked to vote on the issue. Twenty-one supported a change, 21 opposed it, while 20 did not participate.
Tierney said some residents who opposed the proposal were not necessarily Trump supporters but were concerned about the inconvenience and costs associated with changing their addresses.
Although the issue appeared to have been settled after the 2021 vote, Tierney said Trump’s move involving Lake Ontario has brought the debate back into focus.
However, he urged Canadians not to allow the naming dispute to overshadow more serious issues affecting relations between the two countries.
“The semantics of names, we can save that for another day in the future,” Tierney said. “Right now, I think our focus has to remain on trade and tariffs, something that this is just nothing more than a distraction from.”
“We see the president doing something the same and it’s tired,” Tierney said. “Stop with the lame name game and let’s get back to the table.”
