The small Quebec town of Asbestos, with a population of 7,000, will change its name next year, the town authorities announced on Wednesday.
"There is really a negative perception around asbestos. We have lost businesses that don't want to establish themselves here because of the name", Mayor Hugues Grimard told reporters.
He also added that citizens "as the ambassadors of a municipality" will be involved in the choice of the new name.
The name of the town is linked to its decades-long history of asbestos mining.
Inhalation of asbestos leads to serious lung issues, including cancer, and was therefore banned in many countries.