Halifax Regional Council to Vote Tuesday on Renaming Original Lynwood Drive
Reminder: Halifax Regional Council to Vote Tuesday on Renaming Original Lynwood Drive
Two sisters urge council to preserve a Lebanese Canadian legacy as petition tops 600 signatures
HALIFAX (July 13, 2026) — Halifax Regional Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a
proposal to rename the city's original Lynwood Drive in Sherwood Park.
Former Nova Scotia MLA and Cabinet minister Patricia Arab, who still lives in her grandparents'
original home on Lynwood Drive, and her sister, journalist and communications consultant Paula
Arab, are urging Council to reject the recommendation, arguing the street represents an
important chapter of Lebanese Canadian history.
A public petition opposing the renaming has now attracted more than 600 signatures—an
extraordinary level of support for a street with just 11 homes. Supporters say the response
reflects the street's significance well beyond its residents, as generations of Lebanese immigrants
passed through the family home after arriving in Canada between the 1950s and 1980s.
The sisters argue the proposal would erase an important piece of Halifax's immigrant heritage
while failing to resolve the duplicate street-name issue it was intended to address.
Council Meeting
• Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
• Location: Halifax Regional Council live webcast here:
• Agenda Item: Proposed renaming of Lynwood Drive
Media Contact
Paula Arab
Journalist and communications consultant
arabpaula@gmail.com
Backgrounder
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2026
Stop HRM from Erasing a Lebanese Canadian Legacy
Two sisters call on Halifax council to preserve a street that became
the gateway for generations of Lebanese immigrants
HALIFAX — As Halifax Regional council (HRM) prepares to vote
Tuesday on renaming the city's original Lynwood Drive, former Nova
Scotia MLA and Cabinet minister Patricia Arab, and her sister,
Halifax journalist and communications consultant Paula Arab, are
urging councillors to reject a proposal they say would erase an
important chapter of Lebanese Canadian history.
Patricia Arab still lives in the original family home on Lynwood Drive,
built by their grandparents in Halifax's first planned post-war
suburb.
From the 1950s through the 1980s, Lynwood Drive became the
unoUicial reception point for generations of Lebanese immigrants
arriving from the northern village of Diman. Their grandparents,
Charles (born Bashara Youssef Ramia) and Mary Joseph, built the
first home on the street and opened it to newcomers, helping
families find housing, employment, and navigate the challenges of
building new lives in Canada.
For the sisters, preserving Lynwood Drive is more than a question of
a street name. It is about protecting the story of the family home that
welcomed generations of immigrants and became a symbol of
Halifax's Lebanese Canadian community. Erasing the street name
changes that story.
“For thousands of Lebanese Canadians, Lynwood Drive was never
simply an address," said Patricia Arab. “It was where people found
their first home, their first meal, their first job, and often their first
hope after arriving in Canada.”
“These events happened on Lynwood Drive. If you change the name
of the street, you erase that history;” added Paula Arab.
The Canadian Museum of Immigration has described Diman as "the
tiny Lebanese village that changed the face of Halifax." The
community's legacy has also received national attention in The
Globe and Mail, including a recent full-page weekend Opinion essay
by Arab on the proposed renaming.
Paula Arab says the staU report before Council overlooks extensive
oral history and community testimony documenting the street's
cultural significance, focusing instead on the fact it was not
originally named for the Lebanese community.
“That misunderstands the history entirely,” said Paula Arab, who has
written extensively about heritage, urban planning and identity tied
in place.
“The significance lies not in why the street was named, but in what
happened there afterwards. Communities give places meaning.”
She also argues the proposal fails to solve the problem it claims to
address. Three Lynwood Drives currently exist in Halifax Regional
Municipality, yet only one would be renamed. The vote also appears
on the same Council agenda as Halifax's Dismantling Racism and
Hate Strategy.
“It is difficult to reconcile a commitment to dismantling racism
while dismissing the lived history of one of Halifax's oldest
immigrant communities,” she (Paula) said.
“This is about more than a street sign. It is about whether immigrant
history matters when governments decide what stories are
preserved in our public spaces."
Media Contact
Patricia Arab and Paula Arab (403)889-9128
arabpaula@gmail.com