ALL HAIL THE ‘REPUBLIC OF RATHNELLY’
Some 50 years ago, a Toronto neighbourhood ‘seceded’ from Canada in protest over the Spadina Expressway. Queen Eileen ruled and Bubbles, a poodle, was head of state
As you walk the tree-lined streets just east of Casa Loma, past red brick homes and well-kept gardens, there isn’t a trace of the rebellious past of the republic that turned its back on Canada, 50 years ago.
In the 1960s, amid fears the Spadina Expressway would destroy the neighbourhood and its peaceful way of life, residents of the neighbourhood then known as Rathnelly banded together, arming their citizenry with wit, pomp and a dash of swagger.
They looked to their chosen leaders, Queen Eileen the First of Rathnelly, and their trusted head of state, Bubbles the poodle, to guide them through the ensuing battle of nations.
Pym Buitenhuis was born in the neighbourhood and was about 6 years old when it abandoned ties to the motherland, breaking away to become the Republic of Rathnelly in Canada’s centennial year.
In those days, Rathnelly “was a very, very different area,” Buitenhuis recalled. “It was basically all rooming houses and it had fallen into pretty serious disrepair. It had really become a pretty scuzzy place.”
Or, ripe for conquest, as the neighbourhood bound by Avenue Rd., Poplar Plains Cres., Poplar Plains Rd., and the CP Rail tracks discovered after plans were approved to turn it into an off-ramp from the proposed expressway.
“They didn’t think anyone would really care,” she said.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
Cathie Wighton, now 66, moved to the neighbourhood when she was 11 and recalled her efforts in the resistance fondly.
She was the campaign manager for Sammy, her neighbour’s black poodle, who was running to be head of state, and remembered giving out Wishbone dog treats to buy votes for him.
The area had an incredible sense of community, Wighton said, in part because there were so many children living there.
“Everyone got involved. The streets were just crowded,” said Wighton, adding parents with young kids often socialized.
“If you bring that partying into the neighbourhood, it makes it a community. You’ve got a family within a family,” she said.
The citizenry were mostly young professionals with little money working at newspapers, ad firms, architectural firms and universities. They had started buying up the rooming houses, lovingly coaxing them back to life, and decided to take a brave (and cheeky) stand against the government.
In a dramatic show of defiance, they announced they’d left Canada, creating a flag and coat of arms as a sign of their independence.
In 1969, they even sent a letter to then prime minister Pierre Trudeau, asking for a foreign aid grant to build a playground in exchange for letting the city use the water pumping plant and parkland.
“Unless immediate action is taken on your part we shall have no alternative but to regard your occupation as the commencement of hostilities and we shall therefore order total mobilization of our citizenry,” read the letter.
The prime minister’s secretary, Olga Maxwell, replied, congratulating Rathnelly “on the evident success” of its republic, but said it should contact the city for the funds, adding that she hoped the two nations wouldn’t resort to war.
“And I realize that we would have trouble beating you in a war, for I know that your strength is that of a million men, as your hearts are pure,” she wrote.
After a drawn-out battle, the Spadina Expressway was vanquished in 1971 and the republic rejoiced.
“The republic kind of hasn’t stopped since then to really kind of believe in the idea that you have to stick together, be mindful and build a community otherwise you’ll soon find yourself overrun by things you can’t control,” Buitenhuis said.
Though Rathnelly is currently without a figurehead (its last queen moved away) and doesn’t have a head of state, the spirit of the plucky nation prevails.
The citizens are more consultant, investment banker-types than artists and journalists, Buitenhuis said, but the sense of community has remained as solid as the borders that define the neighbourhood.
On June 17, Rathnelly will be holding a street fair to celebrate a half century of independence. Canadian passports are strictly verboten though, Buitenhuis warned. Only citizens of the republic and alumni are invited past state lines. The theme is Revolution 2017 — Republic of Love. The celebration will feature a parade through the streets, games, a cocktail party, entertainment and a street dinner and dance.
The neighbourhood will also be unveiling new lane names that pay tribute to its history, including Rebellion Lane and Stop Spadina Lane.