Trudeau, Governor General snub Queen Victoria’s birthday

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While Victoria Day may have been celebrated by most in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon were not among the celebrants.

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Simon dedicated her energies to planting trees to help fight climate change, while Trudeau used the day to promise Canadians they’ll get free contraceptives.

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First celebrated in 1845, Victoria Day is Canada’s oldest public holiday. Maybe Victoria’s secret is that the legendary queen of Canada in 1867 — the time of Confederation — has already been unofficially cancelled. 

While there is no announcement to this end found on Government of Canada social media sites, there was also no noticeable acknowledgement that Monday marked the celebration of her birthday.

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Many call it the May Two-Four weekend, and for most, it’s the annual starting line for summer. Many enjoyed the holiday, but if they were looking at federal government official sources, they may not know which holiday it was.

Special thanks to the Royal Canadian Legion who posted Queen Victoria’s picture and wished her a happy birthday. It was something the King’s representative in Canada and the current prime minister failed to do.

Queen Victoria, who served as the British Commonwealth’s from 1837 until 1901, received a royal snub from the King’s stand-in. One would think Simon should know about the significance of the date and be required to highlight it. 

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Instead, the Governor General posted to X on Tuesday: “This past weekend, #GGSimon and a group of friends planted 500 saplings to help restore the forested area damaged by Hurricane Fiona in Nova Scotia.”

On Friday, Simon posted about receiving an honourary degree at the Royal Military College in Kingston where she was “delighted to meet with students participating in the Indigenous Leadership Opportunity Year.” 

Noble efforts, but no mention of the holiday. 

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Trudeau was busy, too. While he didn’t reference Victoria Day, he did post a video in which he spoke with a woman about the right to chose an abortion. 

“Being pro-choice means believing women should have the freedom to choose if or how to start a family. So, we’re going to make contraceptives — including emergency contraceptives — free in Canada,” he said on X.

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He also talked about his government’s plans to combat car theft. Trudeau in the past weeks has commemorated on X about many holidays, including Passover and Vaisakhi. But just as he failed to publicly mark Good Friday, he also did not commemorate Victoria Day on social media.

Some things are a priority for him, and others are not.

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Just last week, Trudeau tweeted out a happy birthday to comedian Mark Critch, which was a nice gesture. But his lack of a message on Victoria Day sends a loud message to those who believe Canada’s historical roots are being erased brick by brick.

People can’t come to any other conclusion when they see the removal of Sir John A. Macdonald statues, his name dropped from schools and his likeness erased from currency.

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Trudeau, who has received forgiveness and a second chance for wearing black face — and a whole lot of other things — has failed to stand up for a former prime minister or Queen Victoria, who has also had her statues removed or vandalized in different parts of the country.

All of this is on the premise there are the bodies of missing Indigenous children buried on the property of Catholic Residential schools. Despite no remains have been found so far, the blame remains tagged to Macdonald and Queen Victoria, who had no direct involvement in any of these schools. 

They should not have the power to write Queen Victoria, John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson, James McGill or Henry Dundas out of Canada’s history books. Whatever their views, the positions of prime minister and governor general belong to Canadians. As individuals, these leaders can have their own point of view, but as public office holders representing all Canadians, they should respect the service of Canada’s first prime minister and the sovereign of the British Commonwealth.

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Why do they get to decide on the history?

And after seeing Yonge-Dundas Square renamed Sankofa Square, Canadians realize historical figures will be replaced by themes, however benign, that have nothing to do with Canada and are chosen without giving them a say.

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But Trudeau and Simon are not alone in missing Victoria’s birthday.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on X did not mention the birthday while tweeting about many other important community initiatives, explaining that “Trans Pride Toronto is a collective of trans and two-spirited people that supports the needs of marginalized, racialized, and sex working community members” and on the “Native Cultural Centre (addressing) the needs of the Toronto urban Indigenous population with counselling, material assistance, and essential services to empower members of the Indigenous community.” 

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Premier Doug Ford was the one who got it right — acknowledging Victoria Day weekend with a warm, unpolitical video, encouraging people to be safe and have fun. 

It was better than nothing — which is what Queen Victoria got from our other leaders.

On that note, Happy Birthday, Queen Victoria — belated.

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