NDP wants to name TTC station after Nelson Mandela
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath proposes new station be named after South African icon
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath wants one of the yet-to-be-built Scarborough subway stations to be named after South African liberator Nelson Mandela.
She introduced a surprise motion in the Ontario legislature to name the first stop in the proposed new subway line in honour of the recently deceased Mandela. Her motion received unanimous support.
Christening the station after Mandela would be a break with the Toronto Transit Commission's typical naming conventions. Most of the current stations are named after streets, buildings or other geographic identifiers.
Besides that, it is the TTC board that normally names the TTC stations — not the provincial legislature.
However Karen Stintz, the current chair of the TTC and declared candidate for mayor, said on Twitter she was pleased with the vote.
"Glad there's all-party support at Queen's Park for a new TTC Scarborough subway extension station to be named after Nelson Mandela," she wrote.
The subway construction in Scarborough has yet to begin.