Lakefield is making headlines across the world for a tiny island located in the Otonabee River. The island is named Prince Andrew Island and sits just south of its sister island, Gordonstoun Island.
These two small islands, which can be seen from Water Street, have caused some major waves recently. The controversy comes after the former Prince Andrew lost his royal titles over his ties with convicted sex-offender Jeffery Epstein.
During the November 11 meeting of Selwyn Township Council, Mayor Sherry Senis made a notice of motion looking for council support to consider renaming the islands.
She said, “I’m sure you’ve seen in the media and some counselors have received emails about the fact we have an island named Prince Andrew Island. It’s situated on the Otonabee River in Selwyn. We also have an island named Gordonstoun Island named after the Scottish boarding school attended by the former Prince Andrew King Charles III and Prince Philip.”
The former prince does have ties to the area as he attended the Lakefield College School for about six months in his youth. He was also the honourary chair and trustee of the Lakefield College School Foundation but his term expired in 2019 and he is no longer associated with the school.
Senis told council that she has had interviews and subsequent articles released from publications such as the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, the UK London Times, and the Peterborough Examiner asking about the name of the island if the township is considering changing it.
Senis said, “As you can appreciate, we don’t have the authority to just change the name of any Island, and so I would request a motion that council support that staff prepare a report outlining the process required to change one or both island names, and bring it back to council in the future so that we can vote on this.”
Coun. Brian Henry seconded the motion to allow staff to bring back a report from staff that would inform council of the process, challenges, and options for renaming the islands in Lakefield.The motion was unanimously approved.
