Toronto opens 'Heroes' Way' to commemorate 2018 North York van attack

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 26, 2025 3:34 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

A thoroughfare successful North York is taking connected a caller sanction successful tribute to the radical who rushed successful to assistance during the fatal van onslaught that took spot connected Yonge Street successful 2018.

At a ceremonial astatine Mel Lastman Square successful North York Saturday morning, the metropolis replaced thoroughfare signs connected Canterbury Place, temporarily renaming it "Heroes' Way."

"Your enactment prevented much deaths, rescued the injured, and brought comfortableness to countless others," said Mayor Olivia Chow astatine Saturday's ceremony. 

The thoroughfare is adjacent the constabulary and occurrence stations that responded connected the time of the attack.

The commemoration comes days aft the seventh day of the attack, the deadliest wide sidesplitting successful the city's past that took the lives of 10 people, mostly women. 

Another pistillate died much than 3 years aboriginal from injuries suffered that day.

"It whitethorn consciousness similar 7 years for galore radical successful this community, but not to the families. They inactive consciousness that bare abstraction astatine their meal array and we widen our sympathies," said Willowdale Coun. Lily Cheng. 

The ceremonial astatine Mel Lastman Square began with remarks from Chow and Cheng, who work the names of the victims aloud earlier a infinitesimal of silence. 

Cheng said she remembered the time of the onslaught arsenic a joyful outpouring time that was torn isolated by violence. 

"But adjacent successful that acheronian moment, we saw the airy of Toronto the bully and Toronto the brave," she said, referring to the archetypal responders and bystanders who rushed to assistance those injured successful the attack. 

"In the look of horror, the airy of our assemblage emerged."

A imperishable memorial to honour the victims of the onslaught is successful the works for Olive Square Park, the spot wherever radical gathered successful the aftermath of the tragedy, Cheng said. 

"And truthful it is fitting that it is present been chosen arsenic the determination for the imperishable memorial," she said.