Manitoba bill to name August holiday after Terry Fox tabled

The Manitoba government has introduced a bill that, if approved, would rename the lone statutory holiday in August after Canadian icon Terry Fox.

The bill proposes establishing the first Monday in August,currently known as Civic Holiday,as Terry Fox Day in the province.

The province also wants to name the second Sunday in September after Labour Day as Terry Fox Run Day, honouring the annual run that people around the world participate in each year in his memory.

The province has said that naming the August holiday after Fox resulted from calls from the public to honour his memory in a more official way.

"Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg and went on to become a national symbol for hope, courage and perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds," Health Minister Sharon Blady stated in a news release Monday.

"This new legislation will ensure his memory and his enduring legacy are never forgotten in our province, and support ongoing cancer awareness and fundraising activities for cancer research carried out in his name."

Premier Greg Selinger first officially stated his interest in naming Civic Holiday after Terry Fox in July 2014.

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Blady said the proposed new act is expected to take effect "later this year."

British Columbia will have its first Terry Fox Day in September. It will be on the second Sunday after Labour Day.

Marathon of Hope

Fox was born in Winnipeg on July 28, 1958, and moved with his family to B.C.in 1966.

After he lost his right leg to cancer in 1977, he set out in 1980 to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

His Marathon of Hope began on April 12, 1980, when Fox dipped his right leg in the Atlantic Ocean near St. John's and filled two large bottles with ocean water. He intended to keep one as a souvenir and pour the other into the Pacific Ocean upon completing his journey at Victoria, B.C.

On Sept. 1, the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, just outside of Thunder Bay, Ont.

He died on June 28, 1981, at age 22, having become the youngest person ever to be awarded the Order of Canada.

This year's Terry Fox Run is scheduled to take place Sept. 20 in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Thompson and other communities across the province.

The Terry Fox Foundation was founded in 1988 and has since raised more than $600 million for cancer research.

"Terry's roots are in Manitoba where he lived the first eight of his 22 years," Rolly Fox, Terry's father, said in the province'snews release.

"We are very thankful that the province has recognized our son, brother, uncle, nephew and cousin in this way and, more importantly, his living legacy of eradicating cancer through research."