Canadian council considers changing 'Trump Avenue' to 'Taco Avenue' or 'Obama Avenue' amid US trade war

As diplomatic and economic tensions between the United States and Canada continue to escalate, a Canadian city council has taken the first step toward stripping Donald Trump’s name from a residential street—with "Taco Avenue" and "Obama Avenue" emerging among the suggested replacements.

In a unanimous vote this week, Ottawa City Council moved to initiate a formal process to rename Trump Avenue, a suburban street in the capital city's Central Park neighbourhood that has borne the moniker for roughly 25 years.

The street was originally named as part of a New York City-themed subdivision developed around 2000, which also includes addresses such as Staten Way, Madison Park, and Gotham Private, reports ABC7

However, amid a bitter trade dispute marked by reciprocal 50% tariffs and Trump’s executive order attempting to rebrand Lake Ontario as "Lake America," local leaders argued that honouring the US president in Canada's national capital has become unacceptable.

"I'm embarrassed that there is a street in River Ward called Trump Avenue, and I'm embarrassed that, in the nation's capital, we have Donald Trump honoured in this respect," Councillor Riley Brockington told council members during the meeting.

"We're past the point of debating whether or not the street name should remain Trump Avenue. It should not."

Trump formally renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America on Thursday (Al Drago/The Washington Post/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe echoed those sentiments, stating: "I don't want anything named after Donald Trump in Ottawa."

The debate has prompted a wave of creative—and distinctly cheeky—replacement suggestions. Ottawa City Councillor Tim Tierney confirmed that proposed names submitted by the public include Ontario Avenue, Canada Avenue, Beaver Avenue, Canada Goose Avenue, Gulf of Mexico Avenue, Pelosi Avenue, and Rosie O'Donnell Avenue.

One of the most viral contenders is "Taco Avenue"—a subtle jab referencing the online acronym "Trump Always Chickens Out".

Renaming the street will not happen overnight. Under municipal policy, more than 50% of the 62 households on Trump Avenue must vote in favor of a change before a public consultation process begins.

A previous attempt to rename the street in 2021 resulted in a deadlocked 21–21 tie, with 20 households abstaining—largely due to residents wanting to avoid the administrative headache of updating official documents and IDs.

Ottawa has motioned to rename 'Trump Avenue' in light of recent events (Getty Stock Images)

The formal community vote is expected to take place following municipal elections later this autumn.

While acknowledging the humor of the proposed names, Tierney cautioned that cartographic retaliation should not distract from the serious economic stakes of the ongoing trade war.

"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. Stop with the lame name game and let's get back to the table."