Tisdale drops town slogan "Land of Rape and Honey"

Tisdale is rebranding.

The community of 3,000 located east of Prince Albert will no longer be known as the ‘Land of Rape and Honey’ after council voted Tuesday to drop the controversial slogan.

“There was some that thought, it had been here for a long time, and was still OK, but the majority said it’s time for a change,” said Mayor Al Jelico.

A town survey conducted last spring found 57 per cent of residents were in favour of dropping the brand. Thirty-six per cent were against and seven per cent neutral.

Jellico voted to rebrand. He said in the last three years the town’s slogan has hindered attracting new business to the community.

“National firms or whatever they couldn’t use a slogan like that if they were to be involved in moving to Tisdale,” he said.

The slogan, which has drawn international attention and criticism for how it sounds, is rooted in agriculture.

Rapeseed, often called Rape by those in the agricultural community was a prominent crop for the community, but declined dramatically as canola became more popular.

Director of Economic Development Sean Wallace said the 60-year-old slogan became outdated.

“What was relevant then might not be reflective of the community today. I know that our community has many strengths and I think council wants to exemplify those strengths by being current and talking about what is going on in Tisdale today.”

Wallace said the community will be involved in choosing a new slogan. The new brand is expected to be in place by June.