Manitobans widely regard Louis Riel as the founder of the province.
The provincial Liberal party wants to go farther and recognize the Métis leader as the province’s first premier.
Leader Rana Bokhari said she would make a formal declaration IF her party wins the provincial election April 19.
“For too many years, we’ve marginalized this relationship with the Métis nation in Manitoba, and it’s about time we embrace this history in a way that can really showcase this province,” said Liberal St. John’s candidate Noel Bernier.
Louis Riel led the Red River Rebellion of 1869-1870 and later a provisional government in the Red River Settlement.
This provisional government held a convention to draw up a list of conditions for the settlement to enter into confederation, most of which were adopted into the Manitoba Act.
Riel was later convicted of treason and hanged in Regina in 1885.
“It’s time to officially honour the sacrifices of Louis Riel,” Bokhari said in a news release.
After the Liberal announcement, the NDP sent out a news release stating that recognized Riel as Manitoba's first "Leader" in the Legislature, when the government's Pathways to Reconciliation Act passed second reading.
Currently, historians consider Alfred Boyd to have been Manitoba's first premier, according to the Manitoba Historical Society. Boyd held office from 1870 to 1871.
