It would appear that when the streets of Centretown were being named, the Earl of Derby drew the short straw.
The road named for the 19th-century British statesman may have the distinction of being the shortest in all of Ottawa.
Set between Lewis and Gilmour streets, Derby Place is less than 50 metres long and easily mistaken for a driveway.
But the man for whom it was named was a major figure in British politics in the 1800s, and was serving as Britain’s prime minister when Canada was born on July 1, 1867.
In fact, Edward George Stanley, the 14th Earl of Derby, served three terms as British prime minister before his death in 1869. He remains the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, having held the position for 22 years.
Notably, the second of the Earl’s sons to assume his title was Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby. He’s better known as the Governor General of Canada who, in 1892, donated a trophy to be awarded to the best hockey team in the country.
It would become known as the Stanley Cup.