A landmark sign at a popular Ontario beach was changed just before the arrival of Canada Day visitors to reflect a First Nation’s ownership of the land.
The red sign at the westernmost portion of South Bruce Peninsula’s Main Street, where the stretch of sand meets the dead-end road, now reads “Welcome to Saugeen Beach” instead of “Welcome to Sauble Beach.”
The change made by Saugeen First Nation members in the early morning hours of Canada Day follows a lengthy land claim dispute and a court ruling that a stretch of Sauble Beach belongs to the First Nation.
“It’s been a long time coming, around two years in the making,” Saugeen First Nation band councillor Sonya Roote said, adding that the sign change was planned for the early morning hours to avoid traffic and to make sure the workers weren’t in anyone’s way.
The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld last December a 2023 court ruling that an approximately 2.2-kilometre portion of Sauble Beach’s coast held by private landowners had been improperly surveyed in 1855 and formed part of Saugeen First Nation’s reserve.
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The portion of land is valuable fishing ground for the First Nation community and was surrendered by Saugeen First Nation in Treaty 72, an agreement signed in 1854 with the Crown to give up portions of Bruce Peninsula.
Saugeen First Nation initially planned to change the sign during the May long weekend, but faced delays with the project and decided to push it back to Canada Day.
The new Saugeen Beach sign is temporary and there are plans to erect a more permanent one after community consultations “hopefully by next summer,” said Saugeen First Nation band councillor Cheree Urscheler.
“It’s really great for our community, especially because we’ve had to fight for so long,” Urscheler said. “It’s a really nice kind of ending to a new beginning.”
Updating the sign is the first part of a plan to revitalize the beach to better reflect the Saugeen First Nation and bring community members’ businesses to the area, Roote said.
South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Jay Kirkland said he’s disappointed that the town wasn’t notified about the sign change.
“While we respect Saugeen First Nation’s right to make changes on their land, we believe open communication is important — especially when it involves something so symbolic to the broader community. We remain committed to respectful dialogue and working together in the spirit of mutual understanding,” Kirkland said in a statement.
“It’s been over two years since we got our land back and we haven’t heard from the town either,” said Roote. “It’s a two-way street. If they wanted their sign back they would have come and got it.”
Some beachgoers expressed surprise and dismay about the new sign on social media, but the First Nation said it expected such comments and hopes education will allow people to understand the move.
“This beach where the sign is has been our beach, and we’ve had to fight for decades to get it back,” said Roote.
“Now that we have it back, I would hope that people would be happy that we got back what was always rightfully ours.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
