The South Bruce Peninsula council recently voted to use funds that were meant for a new sign at Sauble Beach to instead create a “distinct and modernized” destination identity for the popular tourist destination.

According to a report by Rob Gowan for The Sun Times, the council voted to reallocate $75,000 to this effect on December 16. The move comes on the heels of members of the Saugeen First Nation changing the iconic Sauble Beach sign at the end of Main Street to read “Welcome to Saugeen Beach” in July 2025. The new sign was installed after an Ontario Superior Court ruled in April 2023 that the section of beach from Main Street to just north of 6th Street North was part of the Saugeen First Nation. The land was previously under South Bruce Peninsula ownership.

The council will use the reallocated funds to “develop a branding, destination marketing and economic development positioning strategy for the urban area of Sauble Beach,” according to The Sun Times.

‘A period of transition’

The discussion around rebranding has been underway for several months. In an earlier report by Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre, Mayor Jay Kirkland said the town was already considering bringing in a consultant and exploring collaboration as part of the process. “Whether we go through a rebranding, whether we keep the branding, reaching out to First Nations to be involved with it and see if they’re interested — that’s kind of exciting, and hopefully we can move forward with that,” Kirkland told Bayshore Broadcasting.

In a report to council, the town’s economic development and communications manager, Danielle Edwards, recommended the fund reallocation, arguing that the recent ownership and official name change of the 2.4-kilometre stretch of beach “has created questions regarding the community’s identity.”

“Over the past century, Sauble Beach became one of Ontario’s most recognizable beach destinations, shaping the identity of both the town and its tourism economy. With a 2.4-km stretch of sand beach now renamed Saugeen Beach, the broader identity of the area is entering a period of transition and redefinition,” the report states, according to The Sun Times.

Kirkland said the council ultimately decided not to move ahead with a replacement sign without broader consideration. “I think this is a bigger situation we are coming into right now, and it is time to collaborate and move forward and get some professional help to move forward in the right way,” he told The Sun Times. He added that the situation facing South Bruce Peninsula does not happen “every day of the week or even once in a lifetime,” making it important to ensure the town comes out of it the right way.