Sudbury plans to honour Trebek

Brian Bigger, the mayor of Greater Sudbury, Ont., remembers meeting Alex Trebek in 2015 when the late “Jeopardy!” host returned to his hometown to film an episode of “Amazing Race Canada.”

Bigger was awed by Trebek’s presence. And at the same time, surprised by it.

“He was so soft-spoken and humble,” Bigger said. “For someone who made a living as a game show host, he didn’t take over the room. He let others speak. He made everyone feel comfortable.

“I think that’s what a lot of people who had the opportunity to meet him felt.”

Trebek, who was born in Sudbury to a Ukrainian immigrant father and a French-Canadian mother, died Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80.

Plans are in the works to honour Trebek in the city of 165,000, Bigger says, but a decision on how to do that has yet to be made.

Although Trebek hadn’t lived in Sudbury since he was a child, Bigger says the loss was felt deeply all over the northern Ontario city. Sudburians, he said, routinely took pride in watching him on “Jeopardy!”

“So I think a lot of people in Sudbury made that connection with him and were supporters.”

Flags flew at half-mast at Tom Davies Square, Sudbury’s city hall building, on Sunday, and a virtual book of condolences was set up on the city’s website.

A petition to rename Sudbury’s main library picked up steam in the days following Trebek’s death, with nearly 3,000 signatures as of Tuesday. The petition was started by hosts of a local radio show in 2019 after Trebek revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Bigger says he’ll bring that and other ideas, such as renaming a street in Trebek’s honour, to an upcoming city council meeting.