Duck Lake, Sask., residents launch campaign to protect town’s historic name

“Duck Lake Forever” is the name of a new campaign rallying residents to protect the name of their historic town.

The movement began after the mayor announced plans last week to sell the naming rights for the town of about 580 people, located roughly 80 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

Duck Lake is believed to have gotten its name from what the First Nations people called the small body of water there, “See Seep SaKayegan,” referring to the multitude of migrating ducks in the spring and fall, according to the Town of Duck Lake’s website.

It is best known as the key site during the 1885 Battle of Duck Lake, one of the first clashes in the Northwest Resistance, led by Louis Riel. 

Resident Adam Carriere said he and his partner started Duck Lake Forever as a way to fight back against the proposal. Their online petition had drawn hundreds of signatures by Monday afternoon.

The petition said changing the name would erase part of Duck Lake’s Métis heritage and identity and called the town’s name “a legacy that deserves preservation for future generations.”

“The Battle of Duck Lake is a very important thing in our history. And for those Métis residents, living in the historic town of Duck Lake is a big point of pride for us,” Carriere said. 

He said he also worries a deal with a private company could leave residents vulnerable if promises aren’t kept, and taxpayers could end up footing the bill for new signage and rebranding.

“If they don’t follow through on their side of the agreement, it’s our lawyers against theirs, and we’re up against a giant,” he added.

Carriere said organizers plan to bring the petition to council and push for a community vote.

“This is a big gamble that we can’t turn back from,” he said. “So whatever gets decided here, we’re going to have to live with that.”

One of Duck Lake’s former mayors, Denis Poirier, said he and his family plan to sign the petition.

Poirier lived in Duck Lake for 55 years and served on the town council for 31 years, including seven as mayor. 

He said the town’s history is central to its identity, and a name change would be burdensome on residents.

“It affects everybody from the RM [Rural Municipality], everybody from the [Beardy’s Okemasis First Nation] reserve, because they get their mail in Duck Lake. So their addresses would all have to be changed,” Poirier said.

“Our driver’s licences would have to be changed, our passports, our health cards, so many things that have to happen.… And who would pay for the cost of that? Definitely not the town. It’d be the people.”

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

Still, Poirier said he’s optimistic that community action could make a difference.

“By pulling together and signing these petitions and letting them know that we don’t want that, maybe, they’ll see the light and stop [it] immediately,” he said.

Marvin Ryder, a marketing professor at McMaster University, said the idea of selling a town’s name isn’t entirely new, but it is extremely rare.

He pointed to a couple of examples in the United States. The small New Mexico city of Truth or Consequences took that name in 1950 in response to a radio show contest (it was formerly named Hot Springs). Topeka, Kan., briefly became ToPikachu on two occasions in 1998 and 2018, to celebrate Pokémon releases.

Ryder said there’s no precedent for a Canadian town doing the same, and suggested the mayor’s idea might be more about getting attention. 

“There’s a part of me that wonders if he’s really serious about this or if he’s doing this to really embarrass the Saskatchewan government,” he said.

“Here I am, cap in hand, begging somebody to buy the naming rights for my town so I can afford infrastructure. Maybe the Saskatchewan government should be looking at a program to help smaller communities do infrastructure.”

While he gave the town credit for creativity, Ryder said the concept isn’t practical. 

“The old story is that all publicity is good publicity,” he said. “But I think in terms of being practical, this isn’t the way to go.”