Halifax opens voting on 5 names for new ferry

Haligonians are now able to vote on which one of the five names of prominent Nova Scotians they want to grace the next Halifax Transit ferry. 

The options are: Vincent Coleman, Pte. John Curwin, Viola Desmond, Maj. Gavin Rainnie and Ron Wallace. Residents can vote online until Feb. 15. 

• Coleman was killed during the 1917 Halifax explosion because he stayed behind to warn approaching trains with a Morse code message about the blast.
• Mouth Uniacke's Curwin served in Afghanistan and was killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in 2008.
• Desmond was a civil rights activist who raised awareness about segregation. The black businesswoman was jailed and fined in 1946 for refusing to give up her seat in the white section of a New Glasgow movie theatre. 
• Dartmouth native Rainnie served with the Royal Canadian Artillery and died on D-Day at Juno Beach.
• Wallace was Halifax's longest-serving mayor, from 1980 to 1991. The optometrist also was part of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 1970s. 

Narrowed down to final 5

The city launched a contest in the fall for name suggestions, and received about 200 entries. A committee made up of Mayor Mike Savage and members from community councils narrowed down the final five from a short list based on factors such diversity, significance and originality. 

Whoever submitted the name that wins will receive a year-long transit pass. 

The as-yet-unnamed ferry is expected to start carrying passengers on one of two Halifax-Dartmouth routes this summer. 

In 2014, residents voted to name another ferry Christopher Stannix after a soldier who died in Afghanistan in 2007.

A second replacement ferry was christened Craig Blake last year, named after the first Canadian sailor killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.