PEIPeople in Savage Harbour, on P.E.I.’s North Shore, have a new top-five list of options for their new community name. They were supposed to vote on the final name at a meeting Monday night, but it was decided more consultation was needed.‘People felt… they couldn’t vote with their heart,’ resident saysMarilee Devries · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 4:13 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Residents in the community of Savage Harbour have developed a new shortlist of options for their community name change after some voiced concerns with the previous voting process. (Aaron Aduteyi/CBC)Warning: This story contains language that some may find offensive.People in Savage Harbour, on P.E.I.’s North Shore, have a new top-five list of options for their new community name. Residents were supposed to vote on the final name at a meeting Monday night, but decided more consultation was needed.The community’s name was flagged as part of a national initiative to identify place names considered outdated or demeaning.The province held a series of community meetings this fall to gather input on the renaming process. Last month, options for a new name were narrowed down to five — but there were concerns with the voting process, including the public method that was used. “People felt that maybe they couldn’t vote with their heart when they were using the public ballot, and there was a limited amount of time for discussion,” said Stephanie Compton, who lives in Savage Harbour and is on the province’s Geographical Naming Advisory Committee.WATCH | Residents go back to the drawing board in P.E.I. community’s renaming process:Residents go back to the drawing board in P.E.I. community’s renaming processResidents of what’s now known as Savage Harbour have come up with a different shortlist of potential names for their community, road and bay. They were supposed to vote a new name this week, but decided more consultation was needed. CBC’s Sheehan Desjardins explains.The new list residents came up with at Monday night’s meeting includes the following name options:Heritage Harbour.Seaside Harbour.Shoal Harbour.Wild Harbour.Wild Winds Harbour.Seaside Harbour, Shoal Harbour and Wild Harbour were all on the original shortlist, while Heritage Harbour and Wild Winds Harbour replace Danger Bay and Northside as options. “I think that, overall, people felt that the top five names that we’ve selected this time are a better reflection for the community,” Compton said. LISTEN | Savage Harbour renaming process:Island Morning9:48Savage Harbour renaming processThe process of renaming a community can be a long one, and it’s underway along P.E.I.’s North Shore. Ryan Pineau, provincial tax commissioner and P.E.I.’s representative on the Geographical Names Board of Canada, joins us to talk about the process.Compton grew up in the community, and said the name is part of its identity — and for some residents, changing it is tough.“We kind of think of the word ‘savage’ as being wild, a force of nature, resilient, and we never use the word as a derogatory word or a dehumanizing word. So because it’s part of our identity, I feel like people are sad to be losing that,” she said.“I feel that by having this community consultation, it’ll be more palatable to change the name.”Last year, the federal government renamed the wharf in the community at the request of the Abegweit First Nation. It’s now called Crowbush Cove Wharf Small Craft Harbour. Compton said that name change happened without community consultation.This federally operated wharf on P.E.I.’s North Shore has been known as Crowbush Cove Wharf Small Craft Harbour since September 2024. Compton says the community wasn’t consulted about the new name. (Brian Higgins/CBC)“People have strong negative feelings about that,” she said. “So we wanted to change that for this [process].”Ryan Pineau, the provincial tax commissioner who represents P.E.I. on the Geographical Names Board of Canada, agrees that input from residents is crucial to the process.“Names are deeply personal, and [for] the residents of this community, this name has been in place their entire life and those of their parents and grandparents before them,” said Pineau, who is in charge of the renaming process. “We wanted to make sure that they had every opportunity to be able to put their input into that new name going forward.”New names for bay and road The bay in the community will also be renamed. The options for that include the five proposed community names, as well as three additional choices:Canavoy Bay.Danger Bay.North Canavoy Bay.Savage Harbour Road will be renamed as well, but Pineau said the plan is to wait until after the other two new names are finalized. Ryan Pineau is the provincial tax commissioner and represents P.E.I. on the Geographical Names Board of Canada. He says the Geographical Naming Advisory Committee ‘had to start from scratch’ in the renaming process for Savage Harbour. (CBC)“What we heard from the community is that in all likelihood they would like to see the road name align with either the community or the bay, but they first want to get through those first two votes to see where things have landed before making a decision.”The date for the final vote has not yet been set, but Pineau said it’s likely to happen in January. Once the community has made its choice, the province will have to sign off on the new name to make it official.ABOUT THE AUTHORMarilee Devries is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. She has a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. She can be reached at marilee.devries@cbc.caWith files from Sheehan Desjardins
New list of options developed for renaming of community on North Shore of P.E.I.
