Manitoba NDP, Liberals promise stat holiday on Orange Shirt Day if elected

This year's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation could be the last in Manitoba not recognized as a statutory holiday if one of the two main opposition parties forms the next provincial government.

New Democratic Party Leader Wab Kinew re-committed his party to declaring Sept. 30 a general holiday in a speech during a powwow at the Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

"If we're elected this year, this will be the last Orange Shirt Day that is not a statutory holiday in Manitoba," Kinew said, to loud cheers and applause.

Prior to his speech, Kinew danced in the grand entry, wearing an orange shirt, instead of the full regalia he has worn in the past.

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Kinew said Sept. 30 is one of the most significant days on the school calendar for children.

"I want every parent and every family to be able to participate," he said.

"You can see people from different walks of life, different generations here today to honour the occasion. I think that's very positive for the future of our province. And so a stat holiday would be another step towards that goal of reconciliation."

Past efforts failed

Last year, the NDP introduced a bill to make the day a statutory holiday, but it was voted down by the majority Progressive Conservatives.

A spokesperson for the Manitoba Liberals also confirmed the party's commitment to declaring Orange Shirt Day a stat holiday.

"Manitoba Liberal MLA Cindy Lamoureux was first to introduce a bill in the Manitoba Legislature to recognize this," party spokesperson Colin Roy wrote in an email statement on Saturday.

Earlier this year, Premier Heather Stefanson said the governing PCs were not prepared to officially mark the day as a statutory holiday.

She said the province had been unable to find consensus among business and Indigenous groups, and this year's Orange Shirt Day would remain one of general observance, with non-essential government offices and schools closed.

A news release from the PC party said Stefanson was spending the day in Gambler First Nation, about 300 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

Orange Shirt Day was established to remember experiences like that of Phyllis Webstad, whose grandmother's gift an orange shirt was taken away on Webstad's first day at a residential school.

WATCH | Elder Mary Courchene shares the meaning of Orange Shirt Day:

Elder Mary Courchene shares the meaning of Orange Shirt Day

12 months ago

Duration 6:16

Mary Courchene grew up on Sagkeeng First Nation and went to the Fort Alexander Indian Residential School. Now she says the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation represents 'a time of revelation. A time of resurgence.'

The first Orange Shirt Day was in 2013. The federal government declared the same date National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021 and made it a statutory holiday for its workers and federally regulated workplaces.A June poll from Probe Research found three-quarters of respondents supported making National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a stat holiday in Manitoba.

British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, along with all three territories have declared officially recognized Sept. 30 as a general paid holiday.

On Saturday morning, people wearing orange shirtsmarched through Winnipeg from The Forks to the Canada Life Centre to mark the date.

Cathy Merrick, Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nation, said she has always supported making Orange Shirt Day a stat holiday.

"It's a day of remembrance for our people, for the residential school survivors, for the children that never made it home," Merrick told reporters at the Canada Life Centre.

"With the Orange Shirt Day, every child matters, and that's something that we need to be able to talk about. That's something that we need to be able to share."

The election is on Tuesday.