Wayne Gretzky may arguably be Edmonton's greatest claim to fame. The Great One was a man who kids and hockey fans looked up to ever since he led the Edmonton Oilers during their glory days. I think, for this reason, it stings even more to know that he supports Donald Trump despite knowing Trump's intentions to annex his home country.

It is no secret now that Trump wants to make Canada into the 51st state. Lesser known to the average Canadian, and Edmontonians alike, is that Wayne Gretzky was offered the Order of Canada in 2009 (the most prestigious award a civilian can be offered) and has not come to receive it. I share these facts to set the stage for why I am suggesting we change Wayne Gretzky Drive to a different name.

Wayne Gretzky was seen wearing a white "Make America Great Again" hat at Trump's inauguration party. Gretzky is also close enough to Donald Trump to be invited indoors as the inauguration party went late while others went home. Trump spoke to the press about how he encouraged Gretzky to run for Prime Minister or Governor of Canada. Gretzky replied with, according to Trump, "'Am I going to run for prime minister or governor, you tell me.’ [Trump] said, ‘I don’t know, let’s make it governor. I like it better.'"

This is a tell to me that Gretzky knows of Trump's intent to annex his home country but Gretzky continues to support him. If you feel as betrayed as I do, please consider signing this petition to change the name of Wayne Gretzky Drive to something else. I am not sure what the new name should be. Terry Fox Drive or Joey Moss Drive were great suggestions I've heard, but there can be another petition to decide the name. The point of this petition is to catch the City Council's attention on how important this is to Edmontonians.