The president of the Manitoba Métis Federation is celebrating Louis Riel Day a little differently this year.
He and the province’s premier spent part of the statutory holiday at the Manitoba Legislature, unveiling a new portrait that honours Louis Riel — who led a provisional government and led negotiations that paved the way for the province’s entry into Confederation in 1870 — as Manitoba’s first premier.
“We waited 154 years for this, and we never gave up on correcting the wrong,” said MMF president David Chartrand on CBC’s Information Radio Monday.
“This is about correcting history and the shame and the hardship we have faced.”
Riel was declared founder of Manitoba in 1992 and was officially recognized as the first leader of Manitoba in 2016. MMF has been pushing for him to be honoured as the province’s first premier.
“This is not just for Métis … this is for all Manitoba,” said Chartrand.
“When you start looking at our place in Confederation, our place in history, this is the turning point.”
Premier Wab Kinew introduced legislation last year that would recognize the Métis leader as the first premier.
He previously introduced The Louis Riel Act when he was the opposition leader. The bill was introduced four times, but it was never passed.
Kinew said Monday that it was important for that bill to be the first one his government passed in office.
“In order for us to move forward in a good way, we also have to acknowledge our history,” he said at the unveiling.
“We’re stepping up today to acknowledge another piece of Manitoba’s true history, which I think helps all of us as Manitobans better understand where we come from and where we’re going.”
The legislation also says Manitoba school curriculum must include the contributions Louis Riel has made to the province and to Canada, and acknowledge him as the first honorary premier.
Riel was 41 when he was hanged for treason in 1885 after leading two Métis resistances. Though he has been viewed as a controversial figure in Canadian history, he is now celebrated for his contributions to Manitoba — including through a bill of rights in the 1870 Manitoba Act that he presented to the federal government.
“There was such hatred towards Louis Riel and the Métis people,” Chartrand said. “For us, we know the suffering, we feel the suffering, we’ve lived through it.”
Kinew and Chartrand will also be at Riel’s grave site at the St. Boniface Cathedral on Monday to present the Louis Riel Act.