March 10, 2020
Province Seeks Input from Manitobans on Commemorative Names Project
The Manitoba government is seeking input from Manitobans to ensure its project to name geographical features in honour of Manitoba soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War also respects local and historical geographical names, Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today.
“We will be commemorating the ultimate sacrifices made by Manitoba soldiers in the First World War by naming nearly 8,000 geographical features in their honour,” said Pedersen. “As part of that process, we also want to respect places that already have local or historical names. We are calling on Manitobans to help us with this important work.”
Only geographical features with no known local names will become part of the First World War commemoration project, which is expected to be complete later this year. The minister noted public input will help ensure local culture and history are represented and recorded as part of the process.
Manitoba has already named more than 4,200 lakes, islands, bays and other geographical features to honour fallen Manitoba soldiers who served from the Second World War to the present day.
To review the geographical features proposed for naming, visit https://engagemb.ca/world-war-I-commemorative-naming-project. Manitobans may also contact the Manitoba Geographical Names Program at GeographicalNames@gov.mb.ca or the regional conservation district offices in The Pas or Thompson.
• The Pas – Third Street at Ross Avenue, 204-628-8218; and
• Thompson – 59 Elizabeth Dr., 204-677-6648.
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