Ribbon cutting

By Aaron Mahoney

Métis Trail

Recognition long in the making as grand opening held for Métis Trail

May 24, 2019 | 1:51 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – All the way back in 2008, former President of Metis Nation Region 3 Marlene Lanz approached Lethbridge City Council with an idea.

Instead of the more generic names for some of the new roads being built on the west side of town, how about a name that recognizes the impact that the Métis people have made in Lethbridge and all of Southern Alberta.

On Friday, May 24, a celebration was held for the official grand opening of Métis Trail at the corner of Garry Drive with a ribbon cutting ceremony, numerous speeches from dignitaries who watched the process from the beginning, and a Red River Cart procession to mark the occasion.

Alice Bissonette (right)

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Alice Bissonette, President of the Métis Local 2003, explained it’s an important day because they have been able to come out and share their history and their traditions with the Lethbridge community.

“We’re grateful to the Blackfoot Confederacy for the land on which we stand, and we’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to work with the First Nations people in Southern Alberta. We look forward to continuing to work with them, and the whole City. Mayor [Chris] Spearman has been wonderful in working with the Métis, and we’re grateful to Marlene Lanz and Ephram Bouvier for initiating this way back when. It’s great to see it come to fruition.”

Spearman took some time to explain in detail just what the plan was, and what changed.

“This road was originally going to be called Benton Drive, and back in 2008 the Métis Association of Lethbridge came to City Council and requested that a road be named after the Métis people, and we thought it should be a featured road. The council of the day decided to change the name from Benton Drive to Métis Trail as a result.”

Construction on the two-year project originally began in 2017 with the building of the portion of Métis Trail between Whoop-Up Drive and Garry Drive. It was completed in early 2018, and today’s ceremony was the official grand opening.

Bissonette says the reason to celebrate is that it’s been a long time coming.

“This is really a great historic event, to have a road named after your people is something that we should celebrate, and we are willing to celebrate it with the community. This is just the start; it’s only going to grow from here, Bissonette said, adding that’s what they have to look forward too.

Red River Cart procession

From the City’s perspective, it’s important not only to recognize the Blackfoot people, but the people of Métis heritage that contributed to this community.

“Those ancestors are a part of our history, and we shouldn’t forget them. Metis Trail will always be a reminder of the contributions of the Metis people to this area.”

From a technical perspective, City Council advanced Metis Trail along with Whoop-Up Drive by two years, which Spearman says allowed them to get very favourable pricing.

“The project was completed on-time on the revised schedule, which was actually ahead of schedule, and under budget,” he continued. “As we’ve learned in the last few days, having good effective roads is very important to Lethbridge residents so they can get from one point to another, especially in West Lethbridge.”