When I moved to Elgin nearly 10 years ago I quickly learned there was a neighbourhood called Little Canada.
It seemed a little odd to me at the time. Sure, the street names are named after Canadian provinces – but why?
Very quickly I fell in line with everyone else though and used the nickname as part of our local shorthand.
At one point I actually considered emigrating from New Elgin to Little Canada, but the exchange rate on houses meant it was better value to stay in the same neighbourhood.
Recently I began wondering again, why does Elgin even have a Little Canada?
Does anyone know? I’d never heard a reason. I decided to try and find out.
Why is there a Little Canada? Maybe I’m missing something
Alright, I know the streets are named after Canadian provinces.
There’s Manitoba Avenue which is the road that takes you on a would-be tour of the country, with Quebec Place, Ontario Court and Manitoba Place coming off it.
From a search of the P&J archives it appears as though the homes were approved in 1983 as part of a council and private development.
None of the reporting of the time indicates any motivation to name the streets after Canada.
However, a report about the opening of a specialist facility for adults with learning disabilities on Quebec Place in 1989 specifically references “Moray District Council’s Little Canada housing development”.
So, it’s clearly been a name that has been in use for more than 35 years and even appears to be at least semi-official.
I decide to call some well-informed community contacts I have who have all been around Elgin much longer than I have.
I ask: “Why is it called Little Canada?”
Without fail, they all say: “Because of the street names.”
I reply, growing increasing exasperated each time: “Aye, but why are the street names Canadian?”
After a pause, they all reply: “No idea.”
One contact puts me on to a former Moray Council planner, someone who was at the heart of all developments in Elgin for many years.
With a passion for local heritage to boot, he’s bound to know.
“Why’s it called Little Canada?”, I ask.
“All the streets are named after Canadian places,” they reply.
Losing patience by now, I say: “Aye, but why are the street names Canadian?”
After a pause, they reply: “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not aware of any links between Elgin and Canada. Sorry, I’ve let you down.”
Asking the Little Canada locals
Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way.
Perhaps I should ask the Little Canada population if they know the reason behind their international name.
There’s a woman who stays on Quebec Place who I’ve known for several years.
After the familiar repartee, I ask: “Aye, but why are the street names Canadian?”
They reply: “I have no idea, but I’ve always wanted to know.”
During a walk through Little Canada I stop and ask a group walking along Manitoba Avenue if they know.
I’ll skip the initial couple of questions I ask this time.
Do you know why Elgin has a Little Canada? Let us know in the comments section below.
They reply: “No idea. I’ve always wondered why though. There must be reason.”
Eager to assist, they add: “I have been to Elgin near Chicago though. They have an Elgin Academy and an Elgin Town Hall there too.
“They say it with a soft G though. You can’t have everything, I guess.”
Is Little Canada inspired by Elgins in Canada?
I’m not getting anywhere, so I decide to take my investigations online.
A quick search reveals there are at least seven Elgins in Canada, and several of them even appear to be very little too. Could we be on to something?
Elgin in Manitoba has a population of just 100. I suspect our own Little Canada has more people living there than that.
Meanwhile, Elgin in Quebec is positively bustling with a population of about 400.
The communities in the country appear to be named after James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin, who was Governor General of Canada from 1847 to 1854.
However, the London-born peer’s connections to Moray are also very tenuous. He was the son of the 7th Earl of Elgin, who is better known for removing the Elgin Marbles from Greece.
If this does form part of the reason for why Elgin has a Little Canada, there are perhaps more credible alternatives for street names.
A Chicago suburb called Elgin has a large population of about 115,000, nearly 20,000 more than the whole of Moray combined.
Perhaps we should have a Chicago Town in Elgin specialising in its own range of frozen pizzas?
And Elgin does also have an official twin town in the Bavarian town of Landshut. There is already a bridge to honour the connection, which appears to be more official than any Canadian links.
Canada’s military connections with Moray
Moray does have military links with Canada stretching from the Second World War to today.
During the conflict allied aircraft from the country were based at the long-abandoned RAF Dallachy, which was north of Fochabers.
An attack from the airbase on German shipping in Norway in 1945 became known as Black Friday due to significant the loss of life. Six of the 11 aircraft lost that day were from Canada.
The collective losses from RAF Dallachy that day were the highest from any single RAF Coastal Command operation during the war.
Special remembrance services continue to be held at the Dallachy Strike Wing memorial in the nearby village of Bogmoor every year on Canada Day, which is July 1.
And the military links continue to this day with Canadian personnel recently posted to RAF Lossiemouth to learn how to operate the P-8 Poseidon aircraft.
While Little Canada itself is understood to never had military housing there are homes for military personnel nearby.
Why does Elgin have a Little Canada?
Nobody seems to know for sure, but there could be several potential reasons.
It could be because of Canada honouring the Elgin name, although the links to Moray’s biggest town itself may be tenuous.
More likely the names could have been chosen to honour Moray’s special military connections with Canada.
It is also possible it could have been chosen to remember Scots who emigrated to the country in large numbers in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Or perhaps they’re just names without any special meaning? Either way, Little Canada has become firmly part of Elgin’s geography.
Do you know why it’s called Little Canada? Let me know in the comments or e-mail david.mackay@pressandjournal.co.uk
Read more from Elgin
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