About

In July 2020, Kingston City Council committed to naming what is now called ‘the Third Crossing’ in a way that reflects and celebrates the stories and contributions of Indigenous communities in this region, both past and present.

The consultation process on the naming is the responsibility of the City of Kingston and is being facilitated with the support of First Peoples Group. The naming consultation will begin with discussions with Indigenous Nations with historical ties to the area, including Alderville First Nation and Tyendinaga Mohawk Council, as well as with interested members of the local Indigenous community. This will be followed by a broader consultation with Kingston residents around proposed names and their meanings. Community input will then be brought back to the Indigenous consultation participants and a name will be selected to be brought forward for affirmation through a report to Council.  

The naming engagement is broken into six steps:

• Step 1: (February - March) - COMPLETE
  • Inform the public on naming campaign and opportunities to share input.
• Step 2: (February – Summer)- COMPLETE
  • Consultations with Indigenous Nations with historical ties to the area, including Alderville First Nation and Tyendinaga Mohawk Council, as well as with interested members of the local Indigenous community. Consensus will be reached on naming themes or concepts as well as short list of potential names.
  • Input for the longlist of names is being gathered from three areas: discussions at the virtual meetings, Third Crossing emails to the inbox, and a survey (either completed online / downloaded and emailed / filled in over the phone / mailed in)
• Step 3: (Fall) Engagement with the public. - COMPLETE
  • Education programming on the meaning and origins of the potential names.
  • Engage and gather input on naming themes, concepts and potential names.
• Step 4: (Fall) Reconvene with Indigenous Nations with historical ties to the area, including Alderville First Nation and Tyendinaga Mohawk Council, as well as with interested members of the local Indigenous community on feedback received through engagement with the public. The preferred name will be confirmed. - COMPLETE
• Step 5: (Winter 2021 - 2022) Inform Mayor and Council
  • Report back to Kingston City Council with the final recommendation for the name. COMPLETE
• Step 6: (Winter 2021 - 2022) Public announcement of name and continued community education around the name’s meaning and origin. Education will be ongoing in 2022.

Download the steps and timelines of engagement. 

STEP 2: Virtual meetings  dates and times- COMPLETE

If you are First Nations, Métis or Inuit and living in the Kingston area we are inviting you to a series of community meetings. To participate in virtual conversations around naming themes, please email us at thirdcrossing@cityofkingston.ca Participants are not required to attend all meetings.

Gift for attending meetings: Everyone who attends the bridge naming meetings will have a chance to win a door prize, plus will have their name entered in a raffle to win a beautiful gift basket featuring a quill flower shield, a pair of quill earrings, a journal and a homemade beeswax candle.

• Meeting #1: Introduction (Monday April 12, 4:00pm - 6:00pm) - COMPLETE
  • The first meeting, facilitated by First Peoples Group, was attended by Indigenous Community members who have historical ties to this area as well as interested members of the local Indigenous community. The purpose of this inaugural meeting was to begin discussions regarding how the community will come to choose a name for the bridge. Read the notes from meeting #1.
• Meeting #2: Brainstorming (Monday, April 26, 4:00pm - 6:00pm) - COMPLETE
  • The second meeting, facilitated by First Peoples Group, was attended by Indigenous Community members who have historical ties to this area as well as interested members of the local Indigenous community. The purpose of the meeting was to be an interactive brainstorming session with attendees coming prepared with ideas for themes, stories or ways in which the bridge could be named. Read the notes from meeting #2.
• Meeting #3: Longlist (Tuesday, May 11, 4:00pm - 6:00pm) - COMPLETE
  • First Peoples Group (FPG) will present a “what we heard” board, synthesizing all of the ideas from the brainstorming session. The community will then use a consensus process to group suggestions into categories and to choose a longlist of naming possibilities to move forward. Read the notes from meeting #3.
• Meeting #4: Shortlist (Tuesday, May 25, 4:00pm - 6:00pm)  - COMPLETE
  • A circle process will be used to come to consensus on a shortlist of names to present to the public
• Meeting #5: Validation  (Tuesday, June 15, 4:00pm - 6:00pm) - COMPLETE
  • FPG will present a one-page “profile” for each name from the shortlist, highlighting the intention, history and opportunities for public education that were discussed at the previous four meetings. The names will be validated by community. Next steps for public engagement and the final choosing of the name will be discussed.
• Meeting #6: An additional meeting reviewing shortlist of names (Thursday, July 29, 4:00 pm - 6:00pm) - COMPLETE

Staying informed

If you would like to learn more about Indigenous initiatives at the City of Kingston, visit Engage for Change.

To follow Your Stories, Our Histories