via Google Maps
With the news of his passing, we’ve decided to cover a Milton street named after Brian Mulroney this week.
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society (MHS) President John Challinor II to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, he and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Recently, we covered Bond Head Court and Dalhousie Gate. This week, we’re looking at Aylmer Crescent and Mulroney Heights.
Starting alphabetically with Aylmer, Challinor says the namesake was a former Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada who struggled with the incoming rebellion.
He called the situation an impossible battle as the monarchy knew very little about what was going on in Canada at the time, putting British officials in the country in a tough spot during a growing uprising.
Over the years, the country eventually entered confederation under Sir John A. McDonald, and the rest is quite literally history.
Our other street this week honours a recently passed former Prime Minister of Canada.
Challinor talks about Brian Mulroney as the namesake for Mulroney Heights.
You can always judge the character of a man by the success of his children, and for Brian Mulroney: his daughter Caroline has become a member of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s provincial cabinet; his son Ben had a long career in broadcasting before diving into producing; and, both Mark and Nicolas work in the financial industry in Toronto.
As Challinor noted, Brian Mulroney passed away on Thursday, February 29th, 2024 at the age of 84.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets are named, you should check out the book written by Challinor and Dills. Published by the Milton Historical Society back in 2007, it sold out in about six weeks and has since been long out of print. That said, according to Challinor, you can still find a copy at the Milton Public Library. With nearly 15-years having passed since the initial publication, and the extensive town growth in that time, an updated book is likely to come.
You can also take a walk with the late Jim Dills down Milton’s Main Street in 2002.
If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! We’re currently working on names that we find interesting. You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
