VanierNow Collective
As of this morning, the now infamous community petition Rebuilding K1L: Dropping the “V” in Vanier has reached over 8,000 signatures. Organizers reported the news to VanierNow at far too early a time this morning with an excited phone call. Apparently many folks in the neighbourhood find the V to be highly offensive, and it looks like rebranding is in the air for our little East-End community.
This isn’t the first time Vanier has had a change in name. As many of our posts have highlighted, this area was once called Eastview and was not only separate from Ottawa, but fiercely proud of being one of the biggest little cities outside of the City of Ottawa. Look further back, and you’ll find references to Janeville, where farming and country homes mixed with staple streets such as Hannah and Montreal, and was considered “the most flourishing village in the township.”
According to Jean-Pierre Dubois, the spearheading advocate of the K1L campaign, there was some debate over whether Vanier should be changed back to one of its older identities such as Eastview or Janeville. “We want to show we are changing,” says Jean-Pierre. “But you don’t want to go backwards, eh? We are looking for change, but forward changes.”
Further debate was held over adding a suffix to the Vanier neighbour brand, related Jean-Pierre. Apparently the petition was originally meant to be both a change-maker and a poll to survey neighbour preferences towards an alternative. “For a while, we played with names like Vanierburg, or Vanierborough, you know, like other break-out neighbourhoods . . . but they felt too homogenous, and then we lose the Francophone heritage,” relates Jean-Pierre around the project.
So how did they come to decide that the V should be dropped? And how on earth were over 8,000 signatures amassed within a mere three days of the campaign kick-off?
Apparently, the Vanier (Anier?) Neighbourhood Organization (VNO) felt that dropping the V was a reasonable way to shake off the troubled stain that hangs over our part of town, and embrace the better aspects that are continuously developing around us. “Everyone knows V is a dangerous letter, Vandals, Vampires, Vegans. We are a budding community, not a bunch of rebels and outsiders,” added Jean-Pierre when we questioned him on the usefulness of dropping a single letter. “A on the other hand is really friendly, you know, “Ahh” – it just sounds better.”
And the 8,000 signatures? In the days when social media and electronic campaigns seem to rule, Vanier has proven itself to be a community of more tangible means. Jean-Pierre Dubois and the members of the VNO utilized the old-fashioned signature collection approach with a door-to-door, neighbour-to-neighbour method. From early AM to late PM the VNO members were out knocking on doors and collecting signatures, building momentum Anier-style.
What was days ago only an idea, has sparked like a wild fire and spread across Anier/Vanier like a flame. As for our little blog, Jean-Pierre was keen for us to become AnierNow in solidarity with the campaign, but we believe in chronicling both the past and the present of our developing neighbourhood. If Anier is the new wave, or Anierburg, or Anierville, we’re proud to honour the story of Vanier where this movement of change has started.
What comes next for Anier? The VNO will be taking their pages upon pages of signatures to Councillor Mathieu Fleury, and campaigning for a change of name. With such an overwhelmingly positive response to the idea, it wouldn’t be any surprise to see the new name ushered in quickly.
What do you think about the drop of V from Vanier? Does it represent the positive development we’ve all seen over these past years in the neighbourhood?
As of this morning, the now infamous community petition Rebuilding K1L: Dropping the “V” in Vanier has reached over 8,000 signatures. Organizers reported the news to VanierNow at far too early a time this morning with an excited phone call. Apparently many folks in the neighbourhood find the V to be highly offensive, and it looks like rebranding is in the air for our little East-End community.
This isn’t the first time Vanier has had a change in name. As many of our posts have highlighted, this area was once called Eastview and was not only separate from Ottawa, but fiercely proud of being one of the biggest little cities outside of the City of Ottawa. Look further back, and you’ll find references to Janeville, where farming and country homes mixed with staple streets such as Hannah and Montreal, and was considered “the most flourishing village in the township.”
According to Jean-Pierre Dubois, the spearheading advocate of the K1L campaign, there was some debate over whether Vanier should be changed back to one of its older identities such as Eastview or Janeville. “We want to show we are changing,” says Jean-Pierre. “But you don’t want to go backwards, eh? We are looking for change, but forward changes.”
Further debate was held over adding a suffix to the Vanier neighbour brand, related Jean-Pierre. Apparently the petition was originally meant to be both a change-maker and a poll to survey neighbour preferences towards an alternative. “For a while, we played with names like Vanierburg, or Vanierborough, you know, like other break-out neighbourhoods . . . but they felt too homogenous, and then we lose the Francophone heritage,” relates Jean-Pierre around the project.
So how did they come to decide that the V should be dropped? And how on earth were over 8,000 signatures amassed within a mere three days of the campaign kick-off?
Apparently, the Vanier (Anier?) Neighbourhood Organization (VNO) felt that dropping the V was a reasonable way to shake off the troubled stain that hangs over our part of town, and embrace the better aspects that are continuously developing around us. “Everyone knows V is a dangerous letter, Vandals, Vampires, Vegans. We are a budding community, not a bunch of rebels and outsiders,” added Jean-Pierre when we questioned him on the usefulness of dropping a single letter. “A on the other hand is really friendly, you know, “Ahh” – it just sounds better.”
And the 8,000 signatures? In the days when social media and electronic campaigns seem to rule, Vanier has proven itself to be a community of more tangible means. Jean-Pierre Dubois and the members of the VNO utilized the old-fashioned signature collection approach with a door-to-door, neighbour-to-neighbour method. From early AM to late PM the VNO members were out knocking on doors and collecting signatures, building momentum Anier-style.
What was days ago only an idea, has sparked like a wild fire and spread across Anier/Vanier like a flame. As for our little blog, Jean-Pierre was keen for us to become AnierNow in solidarity with the campaign, but we believe in chronicling both the past and the present of our developing neighbourhood. If Anier is the new wave, or Anierburg, or Anierville, we’re proud to honour the story of Vanier where this movement of change has started.
What comes next for Anier? The VNO will be taking their pages upon pages of signatures to Councillor Mathieu Fleury, and campaigning for a change of name. With such an overwhelmingly positive response to the idea, it wouldn’t be any surprise to see the new name ushered in quickly.
What do you think about the drop of V from Vanier? Does it represent the positive development we’ve all seen over these past years in the neighbourhood?
Image: Muséoparc and VanierNow (2014)