November 10, 2020
Province Names More Than 7,000 Geographical Features after Manitoba's Fallen Soldiers
In honour of Manitoba’s fallen soldiers who served in the First World War, the Manitoba government has commemoratively named 7,764 geographical features in the province, Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced today.
“It’s important that we honour those Manitobans who sacrificed their lives for our country in the First World War,” said Pedersen. “In addition, the Manitoba Geographical Names Program is currently engaged with the Geographical Names Board of Canada to ensure all of these names are also transferred into Canada’s Geographical Names Data Base.”
These new commemorative names add to the more than 4,200 lakes, islands, bays and other geographical features named to honour fallen Manitoba soldiers who served from the Second World War to the present day.
“Ahead of Remembrance Day in a year like no other, preserving the names of our brave men and women along with their stories will be a lasting legacy resulting from the commemorative naming of these geographical features,” said Jon Reyes, Manitoba’s special envoy for military affairs. “I am proud of our Manitoba government and those who provided input into the project so their names will be remembered forever throughout the province.”
In 2016, the Manitoba government launched the geographical naming project to honour formally the men and women from Manitoba who lost their lives while serving Canada in the First World War. The project was open for comment on EngageMB and more than 1,000 individuals participated in the geographical features proposed for naming, the minister noted.
To access a copy of the geographical features named, Google Earth needs to be downloaded, then visit http://mli2.gov.mb.ca/geognames/kml_files/Manitoba_WWI_Commemorative_Names.kmz.
For inquiries regarding the commemorative naming of geographical features to honour those who made the supreme sacrifice including ordering a commemorative name certificate, contact the Manitoba Geographical Names Program at (toll-free) 1-800-214-6497 or visit https://gov.mb.ca/forest/land-management/geographical_names/index.html.
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