Montrealers celebrate National Patriots’ Day with music, speeches and a march

On Monday, National Patriots’ Day – also known as the Journée nationale des Patriotes in French – is the statutory holiday for Quebecers on the Monday preceding May 25th.

In other Canadian provinces it’s Victoria Day.

At Square Saint-Louis in Montreal, people gathered to celebrate National Patriots’ Day to pay tribute to the struggle of the Patriots of 1837 to 1838.

“It’s a day when we can all stop together to think about those who fought for our rights, for democracy, responsible government, our culture, our language,” said Marie-Anne Alepin, president of Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal. “We talk about the Patriots, the women and men. So, since 2002, by decree, the government of Bernard Landry established this day. And we’ve been celebrating it since 2003. So, yes, it’s a day off, but it’s a day for everyone to celebrate together.”

Following the gathering that included music and speeches, the group marched from Square Saint-Louis through downtown Montreal to Place du Canada, a place that the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society would like to be renamed Place des Patriotes.

This year, the organization is particularly emphasizing the importance of opposing the monarchy. “The appearance of King Charles III to read the throne speech of Mark Carney’s Canadian government at the Parliament in Ottawa did not go unnoticed in Quebec,” the SSJB press release reads. “All the polls have clearly shown this for a very long time: Quebecers are against the monarchy and want it abolished.”

“Our Patriots were buried there, you know, it’s a cemetery. Few people know that it’s the Saint-Antoine cemetery, a Catholic cemetery,” said Alepin. “There are still 40,000 men below our feet at Place du Canada. And we think it would be a better representation to name this park Place des Patriotes.”

—With files from The Canadian Press