Berlin Becomes Kitchener

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Kitchener is one of the largest cities in Ontario. But it wasn't always Kitchener. In fact, it's gone through a couple of name changes, but the most famous is going from Berlin to Kitchener. Back in 1807, Benjamin Ebie formed Ebby Town. And this was the name that Kitchener had way back then until about the 1830s when it changed its name to Berlin. And that was because there was a large amount of Germans immigrating to the area. And because of that German heritage, it was celebrated with the name Berlin. Now, in 1874, William L. McKenzie King, who would go on to serve as prime minister for 21 years, longer than anybody else, was born in Berlin. And that German heritage was often celebrated for many years.

[00:00:44]There was even a bust of Kaiser Wilhelm in Victoria Park. And the reason that it was in Victoria Park was because the residents wanted to show that they were proud of their German heritage, but also proud to be British subjects. So, the two came together in that park. When the First World War began, there was anti-German hysteria everywhere. The German language was no longer taught in schools. German Canadians were sometimes put into internment camps and even German dog breeds were no longer allowed at dog shows. In Berlin, Ontario, about 75% of the population had German heritage, but that didn't stop anti-German hysteria from reaching that community as well. It was eventually decided that Berlin could no longer carry that name, and a bunch of names were put forward in the spring of 1916.

[00:01:36]These included Canada, Brief, Imperial City, Georgia, Cameo, Toronto, Ontario, Ontario City, and Kitchener. On September 1st, 1916, a referendum was held and rather than choose the very confusing name of Ontario, Ontario or Canada, Ontario or Ontario City, Ontario, the residents, in a slim vote voted in favor of Kener. Now, that was in honor of Field Marshall Kitchener, who was a British Army officer who died on June 5th, 1916. In fact, you've probably seen him. He's the guy pointing at you in those posters. Now, Berlin/Kitchener was not the only place to change its name during the First World War.

[00:02:18]Prussia, Saskatchewan also changed its name. You might know it as Leader Saskatchewan now. And that's the story of how Berlin became Kitchener in Ontario during the First World War.