Skip to content

Anmore honours one of its founding fathers on Sunday, Nov. 3

Dr. Hal Weinberg, Anmore's first mayor, died in January following a brief illness.
tcn-20241030-weinberg-ceremony-1w
Dr. Hal Weinberg proudly wears his Order of B.C. that he was awarded in 2014.

Anmore will honour one of its founding fathers on Sunday, Nov. 3.

The village will rename Spirit Park (1009 Ravenswood Dr.) to Dr. Hal Weinberg Spirit Park at a special ceremony that begins at 1 p.m. A new sign for the park will also be unveiled as well as a special display with Weinberg’s photo and a dedication plaque in the new community hub.

Weinberg died in January following a brief illness. He was 90 years old.

Weinberg was a renowned neurophysiologist at Burnaby’s Simon Fraser University (SFU) when he and his wife, Linda, moved to Anmore in the 1970s. The village was still an unincorporated rural enclave without water service or a transit connection to the rest of Metro Vancouver.

In 1987, Weinberg and his wife, along with neighbour Bob Hunter, who founded the Greenpeace environmental organization, and his wife, Bobbi, led the effort to incorporate the community as an independent village.

He subsequently became Anmore’s first mayor, a position he held until 2009.

During his tenure, Weinberg got the village connected to the regional water system as well as transit. He also founded Anmore’s annual celebration of newspaper pioneer, Margaret “Ma” Murray, who’d lived there with her husband, George, as they began expanding their publishing enterprise.

“He loved Anmore and everything it represented,” said a statement on the village’s website shortly after Weinberg’s death.

“Hal’s vision was to preserve Anmore as a small rural place where people could continue living relatively freely.”

Dawn McKenna, a former executive director at the Down’s Syndrome Research Foundation in Burnaby, who worked with closely with Weinberg during the 13 years he served on the organization’s Board of Directors, said he “was a very kind and caring man. He was passionate about his work and he tried to make a difference.”

Weinberg was among the first faculty at SFU. He established its brain behaviour lab and headed its office of research ethics for 15 years before retiring in 2012.

The following year, Weinberg received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal honouring his contributions to building British Columbia and, in 2014, he was awarded the Order of B.C. by Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon.

Sunday’s ceremonies run until 3 p.m.


📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in the Tri-Cities? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].

📲 Want to stay updated on Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter

💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.