The residents of a small Canadian town recently voted to change its name from Asbestos to Val-des-Sources, or Valley of the Springs. Since the discovery of a large deposit of 1897 the town, located in southeastern Quebec, had been the site of asbestos mining, with the Jeffrey Mine becoming the worlds largest.
Asbestos was legal in Canada as recently as 2018, and following its ban discussions took place around whether the town should change its name. A referendum held in October 2020 chose the new name Val-des-Sources, which was thn approved by the Quebec government on December 17, 2020.
Find out more about the of the history of the town formerly known as Asbestos here.
