The mayor of the town where John Cabot first arrived in Newfoundland over 500 years ago says they are open to the renaming of the Discovery Day holiday.
The holiday was named to honour the landing of John Cabot in Bonavista back in 1497, but the name has come under scrutiny in recent years because many indigenous populations were already living here when Cabot arrived.
Last year the City of St. John’s voted to rename the holiday to St. John’s Day.
The mayor of Bonavista, John Norman, says he is open to having a discussion about renaming the holiday. He says the reasoning behind the name is euro-centric, but it is an important historic event and that fact should be represented in some way.
Norman says the “discovery” term is heavily entrenched in the town. He says many businesses in the area associate themselves with that name, and that even signs heading into the town say “welcome to the discovery trail.”