We have two streets in Milton named after former politicians who served under the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Each week, we speak with Milton Historical Society President John Challinor II to gather information and details about the namesakes of our roads. If you weren’t aware, he and the late great historian, Jim Dills, wrote the book on Milton street names, writing Milton Streets back in 2007.
Recently, we covered Goutouski Crescent and Sauve Street. This week, we’re focusing on Duignan Crescent and Schreyer Crescent.
Starting alphabetically with Duignan, Challinor says the namesake had a very unique local political career.
He notes that it was an interesting provincial election in 1990. The Liberals and NDP split votes, while the Conservatives saw a drop due to a new party leader in Mike Harris. Over the next five years, the Conservatives were rebound under Harris and the NDPs, and Duignan, would be voted out in 1995.
He then continued his work in housing while running for elections over the next several years, but never won another election.
Challinor recalls Duignan as an honest and passionate man. He’s still alive to this day and resides in Georgetown, Ontario.
Our other street this week is named after Ed Schreyer, who residents might remember as a former Governor General of Canada.
Schreyer started his political career young, being named to the Manitoba legislative assembly at just 22-years-old. Challinor says he is still one of the youngest ever to be named a member of provincial parliament.
He once attempted a return to Canadian politics in 2006 at 70-years-old. It was unsuccessful.
Schreyer is still alive at 87-years-old.
If you’re looking to understand how Milton’s streets are named, you should check out the book written by Challinor and Dills. Published by the Milton Historical Society back in 2007, it sold out in about six weeks and has since been long out of print. That said, according to Challinor, you can still find a copy at the Milton Public Library. With nearly 15-years having passed since the initial publication, and the extensive town growth in that time, an updated book is likely to come.
You can also take a walk with the late Jim Dills down Milton’s Main Street in 2002.
If you have a suggestion on what you’d like to learn about next week, let us know! We’re currently working on names that we find interesting. You can message our Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, or even email us at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. Otherwise, we’ll just continue asking about local street names that we find interesting.
If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
