Ottawa River Parkway gets a new name
Posted Aug 15, 2012 11:11:06 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, Ont. – The Ottawa River parkway has been renamed the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made the announcement Wednesday morning.
Baird says the change is a perfect way to honour the first Prime Minister considering the road along the Ottawa River once connected the upper and lower colonies.
“Under Macdonald’s leadership we saw Canada taking shape,” Baird said. “We saw the building of the Canadian Pacific railway, we saw the continued expansion of the western provinces and the northwest territory and Northwest Mounted Police and most importantly we saw Canada united as one.”
An actor portrayed Sir John A. at the announcement and was smiling ear to ear when the new sign near the Deschenes Rapids was finally unveiled.
The change over will cost taxpayers 60-thousand dollars.
The new name comes after a campaign by the Ottawa Citizen and the Conservatives changing names on other buildings in the capital after former Prime Ministers of theirs. Old Ottawa City Hall at 111 Sussex Drive was renamed the John Diefenbaker Building in September 2011. On January 11th, 2012 the former BMO branch turned federal government building at Wellington and O’Connor was also named after Canada’s first prime minister.
