Winnipeg, MB - At an event this morning, City Councillor Brian Mayes officially named a St. Vital-area trail the “Sentier de la Giclais Pathway” to honour an important part of Franco-Manitoban history in the St. Vital area.
“The trail we are opening today is small, but the symbolism is large,” said Brian Mayes, City Councillor for St. Vital. “We are returning to Winnipeg’s map a French name that was removed 59 years ago, to show the importance of the French language and Franco-Manitoban culture in St. Vital and throughout the City of Winnipeg.”
In April 1958, the Rural Municipality of St. Vital Council changed the name of “de la Giclais Avenue“ to “Sterling Avenue” because of “the difficulty many people have in pronouncing the name.” The original street name was in honour of Marie Joseph Alain Magon de la Giclais, a St. Boniface-area businessman with strong ties to the local French community who fought for France in World War I and was awarded the Croix de la Légion d'honneur.
In January 2017, the Riel Community Committee of Winnipeg City Council voted to re-store the French name “de la Giclais” to a place of honour, acknowledging the historical presence for the French language in St. Vital and the growing Franco-Manitoban community in the River Park South area.
The newly-named Sentier de la Giclais Pathway leads from Twickenham Circle to Frobisher Road and services River Park South and the nearby École Christine-Lespérance and Centre scolaire Léo-Rémillard.