What’s in a name? Sask. town looking to find out by selling naming rights to highest bidder

A small Saskatchewan town is looking for a new moniker and hoping to get some much-needed funds in the process. 

The town of Duck Lake, about 80 kilometers northeast of Saskatoon, is accepting expressions of interest for its naming rights, with the minimum bid set at $10 million.

“We’re putting the name of the town up for sale — just the name,” said Mayor Jason Anderson.

He said interested parties would be buying the permanent naming rights. 

“Their name would be on GPS. It would be on all the maps. It would be on The Weather Network,” he said, “That’s not just in Saskatchewan. I mean, that’s worldwide.” 

He said the town hopes a corporation or someone who wants “to leave a legacy behind for their whole family” will put in an offer and capitalize on Duck Lake’s high-traffic location between Saskatoon and Prince Albert. 

“We have about 6,000 vehicles a day that are driving by on Highway 11,” he said, “Is that worth something for anybody? Who knows?” 

Anderson said the money would be used for upgrading the town’s infrastructure. It needs new water and sewer lines, an undertaking that he said recently cost a neighbouring municipality close to $10 million. 

Since most provincial funding is tied to population, Anderson said asking the provincial government for more money to put toward the infrastructure project is not an option. Duck Lake has a population of about 580 people.

Anderson said he got the idea to sell the town’s naming rights before he was elected, after reading about a stadium in the United States selling naming rights for 20 years at $35 million a year. 

Anderson said he considered the town’s skating rink and town hall, but knew the buildings would not fetch the same amount. He started thinking bigger. 

Town of Duck Lake, Sask., invites bids for its naming rights

The town council approved selling the town’s naming rights in a narrow 3-2 vote. 

Anderson said town residents were not consulted ahead of time in order to keep copycat municipalities from beating Duck Lake “to the punch.” 

“If we were to have discussed this with locals and if this was to have gotten out and any other community actually got ahold of this, before we had made a decision, well, would they have [gone] ahead with it?” he said. 

Brody Falcon, a post office worker in town, said he feels like the town is selling out and that residents should have been included in the conversation earlier.  

“I know the population around here is declining and also the jobs around here are also scarce,” Falcon said, but the town shouldn’t be trying to make a “quick buck.”

Falcon said while he can see the business argument for the decision, the town’s name is “more than just a name. It’s the history around here.” 

Roy Mike said he was shocked to hear the renaming news, but he’s “all for it” as it could increase business and traffic in the community. 

“I feel like it could really help out. There’s a lot of slow days here,” he said, referencing the grocery store he works in. 

Lifelong resident and nurse Lillian Gardipy said there are bigger considerations than the potential revenue.  

“My ancestors named Duck Lake in Cree,” she said. 

“My feeling is, let’s just keep it. Money isn’t everything,” she said. “I cherish my heritage here. I cherish the town and the history behind it. 

Mayor Anderson said that ultimately, it won’t be him or the town council making the decision about moving forward with the renaming, but the community. 

Bids are open until March 31, 2026, and then he plans to have a public meeting in April to discuss the bids, if any, with community members.

“The town would have to make the decision and if they approved it, then we’ll apply to the government and see what happens,” he said.

Considering the historic nature of Duck Lake, which sits on Treaty 6 territory and has deep Métis roots — including being the location where the initial shots were fired in the 1885 Northwest Resistance led by Louis Riel — Anderson said any corporation seeking naming rights would have to have values and ideals that line up with the town’s. 

“It would really have to be a company that is going to align with our history, that would allow us to still embrace it.” 

Even if no offers are made, Anderson said Duck Lake will still benefit. 

“We are getting some amazing exposure, so really, this is a win-win,” he said.