The City of Pointe Claire in Montreal's West Island is naming its new sports centre after the municipality's first female mayor: Olive Louise Urquhart.
Mayor Tim Thomas and members of the city council voted on naming the Brunswick Blvd. complex after Urquhart on Tuesday night, coinciding with International Women's Day.
"Pointe-Claire’s first and only woman mayor and the second woman mayor of any city in Québec, Ms. Urquhart instilled Pointe-Claire with a dynamism resulting in truly great achievements we appreciate to this day," said Thomas.
Urquhart (1907-1987) took office in 1954 and oversaw the construction of various institutions in the community including Lakeside Heights Elementary school and John Rennie High School.
The policy at the time was that French and English-speaking mayors alternated every two years, meaning Urquhart's first term ended in 1956. She served as city councillor for two more years and was re-elected mayor in 1958, where she began overseeing the construction of the city's water purification plant, Lakeshore General Hospital and cultural centre.
"Our new sports centre, which is the gateway to our industrial park, is the ideal place to pay tribute to this pioneer, who contributed substantially to the City and quality of life that we know today. She is a model, a source of inspiration for all of us," said Thomas.
The sports centre is scheduled to open in the spring and a plaque will be erected in it.
