May long weekend has dual historical significance

Although it took two more decades of political will and negotiations with Great Britain, the rebellions and the aftermath reforms can be seen as stepping stones to establishing Canada as a nation in 1867.

This long weekend is a quintessential Canadian holiday, both a confirmation of the arrival of spring and a harbinger of summer — though it’s not clear what West Islanders should call it or which historical event they are supposed to celebrate this coming long weekend.

A Baie-d’Urfé municipal bulletin informs residents that the town hall is closed May 22. The note in French refers to the holiday as the “Journée nationale des patriotes” and in English as “Victoria Day.” Although not a literal translation, it does reflect how most West Island anglophones casually refer to this May holiday.

In St-Lazare, which doesn’t have official bilingual status under Quebec’s language charter but strives to respect its Englishspeaking community, there’s some ambiguity. Online, the city notes in its English section that residents can register their garage sale for the Victoria Day weekend, while its French section simply refers to the “long weekend de Mai.”

The holiday on the Monday has long been known as Victoria Day in Canada. The May holiday coincides with Queen Victoria’s birthday. The British monarch was born on May 24, 1819, and reigned for more than 60 years until her death in 1901.

In 2003, Quebec officially designated the holiday Journée nationale des patriotes. For decades prior to 2003, la Belle Province called it the Fête de Dollard. That name wasn’t meant to recognize the greatness of the West Island’s most populous reconstituted municipality, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, but its namesake. Adam Dollard-des-Ormeaux was a garrison commander in 17th-century New France who became a Québécois folk-hero for his exploits defending Ville-Marie. He died at the Battle of Long Sault in May 1660.

Quebec’s Journée nationale des patriotes honours the 1837-38 rebellions against British rule in Lower Canada, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau. The holiday is popular with modern-day Quebec sovereignists who want to celebrate the patriotes’ struggle for national recognition, political freedom and democracy.

Of note, an 1837 rebellion also took place in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario). William Lyon Mackenzie led the uprising, which also sought responsible government in the British colony.

Great Britain, taking note of both protests, produced the Durham Report, which eventually led to the union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841.

Although it took two more decades of political will and negotiations with Great Britain, the rebellions and the aftermath reforms can be seen as stepping stones to establishing Canada as a nation in 1867. During this whole era, Queen Victoria held the British throne.

So whether you’re relaxing, barbecuing or gardening on Victoria Day or Journée nationale des patriotes, both holidays are intertwined in Canadian history.