Winnipeg – Department of Canadian Heritage

Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is receiving a total of $14,000 in funding for its National Aboriginal Day celebration and its Canada Day Living Flag event. The Government of Canada is providing this financial support through the Celebrate Canada Program.

The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, made the announcement today during an event organized by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, at which the new location of the Living Flag in Winnipeg was unveiled. Last year, approximately 3,500 people gathered at the Manitoba Legislature to participate in the event. 

Quick Facts

• National Aboriginal Day will be celebrated on June 25 at Air Canada Park and events will include live music by local Aboriginal artists, as well as cultural activities.
• On Canada Day, Winnipeggers will gather to create Canada’s largest Living Flag.
• The 2012 Canada Day Living Flag photo was selected by Canada Post to be part of the Canadian Pride stamp series, issued on January 14, 2013.
• Celebrate Canada is an 11-day celebration between June 21 and July 1 that includes National Aboriginal Day on June 21, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24, Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27, and Canada Day on July 1.

Quotes

“Our Government is proud to support events like National Aboriginal Day celebrations and the Canada Day Living Flag. These events bring together thousands of people to celebrate our great country, and I encourage all Winnipeggers to join their friends and neighbours and come out to show their pride in being Canadian! On the road to Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017, let’s celebrate all of the things that make Canada the strong, proud, and free country we are today.”
—The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

“We thank the Government of Canada for their strong support and commitment to the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. Initiated in 2011, the Canada Day Living Flag event continues to capture the hearts and imaginations of Winnipeggers, and has become a multicultural mosaic and snapshot of how welcoming, socially inclusive, and accessible our downtown community truly is. With this year’s event being held at The Forks, with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in the backdrop, we are confident that we’ll again defend our title as the ‘largest living flag’ formed in the country.”
—Stefano Grande, Executive Director, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ