Submitted by the Province of Manitoba
Statement from Premier Brian Pallister and Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Cathy Cox
Together, we virtually join all Manitobans, near and abroad, to mark Manitoba Day. On this day 151 years ago, the Manitoba Act received royal assent, paving the way to our province’s entry into the Canadian Confederation, the only province to do so under Indigenous leadership.
Manitoba Day is an opportunity to explore our history as well as to acknowledge, honour and celebrate our province’s diverse mosaic of people and cultures, whether it be those who have made their lives on these lands for thousands of years, hundreds of years, for decades or who have recently made Manitoba their new home. All have enriched our province with their stories, languages and traditions.
Understanding our history helps us to build community partnerships, common understandings and shared experiences. We need these connections now more than ever.
This past year has been like no other. COVID-19 has handed us new challenges and even greater challenges than before. This pandemic has been marked with incredible loss, but it has also shown Manitobans at their finest. Your determination, compassion and commitment to help protect your fellow Manitobans has enabled all of us to face these challenges head on, together.
Manitobans should take pride in the collective work we are continuing to do to keep each other safe. Manitobans have embraced this task in the same spirit in which we have supported each other in previous times of peril.
Today we reflect on this special day in Manitoba’s history, and we look forward to the day we celebrate Manitoba’s past, present and future, together in person with our friends and loved ones. Manitoba has been the hope of hope for over 150 years and we are confident it will continue to be so for generations to come.