MONTREAL – A proposed name change for a Montreal federal riding isn’t sitting too well with the City of Westmount.
The riding currently identified as Westmount-Ville Marie could soon be re-named Wilder Penfield – after the famous Canadian neurosurgeon.
The change is being proposed by a relatively obscure federal agency – and Westmount officials hope to stop the proposal in its tracks.
Some would call Westmount one of the most charming city’s in the country – it’s certainly one of the oldest.
However, this famous municipality could soon disappear – at least from the federal electoral map.
The riding of Westmount-Ville Marie is slated to be renamed Wilder Penfield.
A federal agency that reports to Elections Canada is recommending a change in the riding boundaries . . . and its name.
One Westmount-Ville-Marie resident told Global News, “Old people like me, we don’t want that, you know.”
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Another said, “I’d like to keep the name Westmount. This is the area that we live.”
Residents aren’t the only ones giving the name change a thumbs down.
“I just don’t get it,” Westmount mayor, Peter Trent told Global News.
The mayor has endorsed a city resolution denouncing the proposal.
“People know where Westmount is,” he said.
“People know where NDG is. People don’t know where Wilder Penfield is. It’s that simple.”
Wilder Penfield was a well-known Canadian neurosurgeon who opened Montreal’s Neurological Institute.
Now Canadian bureacrats want the famous doctor’s name to be part of a new federal riding that will include Westmount and Montreal West.
“It’s in keeping with the Conservative party ideology,” suggested political analyst, Bruce Hicks.
“The Conservatives want to create a sense of Canadian nationalism by naming ridings after historical figures.”
In fact, calling the riding after this particular historical figure does resonate with some residents.
“Wilder Penfield is a very much revered person and it would be a good idea to have that name,” a Westmount resident told Global News. “I don’t have a problem with it.”
However, Mayor Peter Trent points out that there is already something named after the famous neurosurgeon in Montreal – Dr. Penfield Avenue, a main thoroughfare through the downtown core.
The irony is that Dr. Penfield Avenue will not be included in the new proposed riding that is supposed to be named in Penfield’s honour.
No one from the electoral boundaires commission would comment on its proposal to change the name.
And it’s not yet a done deal.
Public hearings will be held in October and Peter Trent promises to be there to try and prevent Westmount’s name from being written off into history.
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