Residents on a quiet street in Vaughan find themselves at the forefront of the Canada-U.S. tariff war in an unexpected way.

America Avenue has been around for about a quarter of a century, and now the city is considering renaming it in light of recent tensions with the United States. Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca put forward a member’s motion in February which would see the street renamed after Canadian icon Terry Fox.

“Having had a great relationship with the United States for so many generations, we do want to see that return, but we know that we’re in less than an ideal spot as a city, as a province and as a country right now,” said Del Duca.

Residents say that if renaming the street is strictly based on the connection to the United States and the current tariff threats, then it makes absolutely no sense.

“It’s not called Trump Avenue, it’s called America Avenue,” said one resident.

“The name of the street is essentially based upon Christopher Columbus because this entire subdivision was built around that. If you take a look at the street names and everything else, that’s what it has to do with,” said Joe, who has lived on the street for almost two decades. “Secondly, by changing the name, it’s going to cost us a bunch of time, effort to change documents.”

Del Duca says the total cost of changing the name is not yet known.

“I want to stress to the incredible people who have to live on America Avenue, nothing is going to be done that a substantial portion of the residents are uncomfortable with. We’re not trying to make their life more difficult,” he said.

What started this debate is a current construction project at the end of the street, where a bridge is being built over Highway 400. The overpass is meant to connect America Avenue with Canada Drive and will be known as the “Canada Drive-America Avenue Bridge”.

“Because it crosses a provincial highway, we need the Ministry of Transportation to agree, so I just wrote not that many days ago to the Minister of Transportation in the aftermath of the provincial election, so we’re hoping to hear from him relatively soon. If that’s where we end up, I think that would be a huge win for the city.”

Residents have until April 24 to complete an online survey sharing their views on renaming the street, and the mayor hopes to have those results by this summer.