The father of New France may be replaced by an icon of Quebec hockey when a new bridge linking Montreal to the South Shore is completed in four years.
The federal government is expected to unveil early next month whether it plans to name the replacement for the aging Champlain Bridge after hockey legend Maurice Richard.
The Rocket scored 544 goals for the Montreal Canadiens and won eight Stanley Cups in his storied career. He also stood up for French hockey players for Quebec when no one else would.
But some Quebecers object to the idea of scrapping the Champlain name in favour of the Rocket.
Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe noted that Richard was “an example to all Quebecers to do their best, to always try reaching excellence.”
However, Richard “means less to Quebec than Champlain,” Duceppe told CTV Montreal.
Explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed to the New World from France in 1603, when he mapped the St. Lawrence River. He returned a handful of times before establishing a settlement, Quebec City, in 1608.
Champlain is considered the founder of Quebec.
Historian Gilles Laporte said that to consider changing a name associated with “our memory, our patrimony, our nation” is “unacceptable.”
French President Francois Hollande reminded Parliamentarians of Champlain’s importance in his speech to the House of Commons on Monday.
“Just 400 years ago, a Frenchman from Charente, Samuel de Champlain, travelled up the St. Lawrence River and founded a country, your country,” he said.
Ottawa will unveil its decision about the new bridge in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Duceppe says there may be a compromise.
“If they absolutely want to a name a bridge for Maurice Richard, then take Victoria,” he said. “It means less to Quebecers than Champlain.”
