Pronouncing 'Belanger' turns out to be harder than you think

How would you pronounce the name Belanger? Is it bell-ON-zhay or buh-LON-jur?

It became a burning question among CBC Saskatchewan's newsrooms and the public after the CBC began using the buh-LON-jur pronunciation in regards to Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River MP Buckley Belanger.

CBC was inundated with emails and phone messages stating that was not the correct pronunciation.

But speaking to Peter Mills on the CBC's The 306, Belanger says he has used both pronunciations in the past.

"I guess on any given day we can change it. On a Friday I use bell-ON-zhay, on Saturday I use buh-LON-jur, just to confuse people more," Belanger said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

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Buckley Belanger, Saskatchewan's sole Liberal MP, talks with The 306 host Peter Mills about being appointed Secretary of State for Rural Development in Prime Minister Carney's new ministry. Buckley Belanger talks about the pronunciation of his name, and how he prefers to pronounce it (00:33).

He said his surname is French, as his grandfather was French and his grandmother was Indigenous.

"Back home in Île-à-la-Crosse, they always say Buckley Bell-ON-zhay."

"We do want to get it right," Mills told Belanger. "We went back a couple years and you had said, yourself, that it was buh-LON-jur.

"But we do want to get right because like I said, our listeners are concerned that we're messing it up. Is bell-ON-jay the official name?" Mills asked.

"Yes," Belanger said.

Cabinet post

Prime Minister Mark Carney selected Belanger to be his secretary of state for rural development. 

"I want to make sure that northern Saskatchewan views are heard," Carney said. "I want to make sure that Saskatchewan views are heard, that rural Canada views are heard."

Belanger said he thinks he has a good relationship with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

"We've had many conversations over my time as an MLA and we've never really had any awful conversations. We have had difference of opinions, of course, but clearly we've had some good conversation as well," Belanger said.

"I value the role of Saskatchewan and of course the premier in terms of moving forward and building this great country."