Victoria, B.C. – This Victoria Day, B.C. Greens reflect on the complicated relationship between the Crown and the people of British Columbia and Canada. Victoria Day was first declared a holiday in 1845 to commemorate the birthday of Queen Victoria, who was Canada’s sovereign at the time of Confederation in 1867. Canada required Queen Victoria’s royal ascent in order to become a nation.
“It is important to know where we have come from, and today we celebrate Queen Victoria, who signed off on our country’s independence,” said Adam Olsen, Interim Leader of the B.C. Green Party. “We have inherited a colonial history with many challenges that we still face today. Our true strength as a province and a country lies in reconciliation efforts.”
The B.C. Green Party also encourages British Columbians to reflect on other important moments in Canada’s history that occurred on May 24th. On Queen Victoria’s birthday in 1916 women over the age of 21 gained federal suffrage. Exactly two years later, in 1918, the Parliament of Canada passed the Statistics Act, creating what is now called Statistics Canada.
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