In a development that will come as a shock to many, Dawson Creek city officials have received preliminary permission from the province to change its name as of July 1.
Mayor Dale Bumstead told the Alaska Highway News that the minor name change to Dawson鈥檚 Creek, approved at the mayor鈥檚 personal request during a closed-door meeting in Victoria, would offer long-term benefits and recognition for a city that too often lives in the shadow of the American TV drama.
鈥淒awson鈥檚 Creek is a well-recognized brand across North America, and there is a huge benefit to the community of leveraging that brand,鈥� said Bumstead. 鈥淭he big thing is awareness of bringing world recognition to our name.鈥�
Most residents are familiar with the 鈥渃lever鈥� outsiders who were the 鈥渇irst鈥� to discover the city鈥檚 indirect connection to the television show, but Bumstead said that sort of recognition is something the city should be capitalizing on.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an amazing opportunity. It鈥檚 just the natural flow that we want to move forward and have that awareness,鈥� said Bumstead. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to be growing flowers, plowing the ground ... we鈥檝e got to look ahead and look to the future.鈥�
The mayor suggested that the change would not only attract outside investment from both inside and outside Canada, but could also get the city 鈥渙ver the hump鈥� in its long struggle to grow past the population level of roughly 11,000 to 12,000 at which the city has remained for five decades.
