It's a big day.
And...
Province Marks 75th Anniversary of Confederation
Quote:
Today marks the 75th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador joining Confederation.
The province officially joined Canada March 31, 1949, and in doing so became its 10th province.
Government has numerous events and initiatives planned over the course of the year to mark the milestone, including a special medal to be given to chosen residents and a commemorative license plate.
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https://vocm.com/2024/03/31/province...confederation/
I haven't seen or heard of much going on, but there was a commercial on the radio for some injury law firm that said we're the only province whose people chose to join Canada, and one of only three with terms of union.
Also, the March 31 thing is bullshit. It was April Fools Day here, even though they tried to avoid that.
EDIT: Another official acknowledgement in my feed.
I'm really sitting back, watching, seeing just how big a deal this is here. I'm curious about that, without wanting to participate/influence it.
Opera on the Avalon teamed up with Rum Ragged to do a song penned by my fave, Amelia Curran. Not my thing, but hey, it's commemoration lol
• Video Link
EDIT: Days later, not much additional yet. But I did hear Joan Morrissey's anti-Confederation song on the radio for the first time in years. Not a fan of that one, though - the only version that survives is a studio version that's awful, her whole charm was her live charisma and crowd work. My fave of her Confederation-adjacent songs was this one about the impact of Canada's baby bonus in Newfoundland and Labrador (my father was born in 1950, mother in 1952, and they have 12 siblings each. Completely normal for the time).
• Video Link
Now, the additional stuff there has been is mostly Indigenous leaders on the island saying they're not celebrating. This is all on us, not Canada - but they're raising the issue that Newfoundland denied there were any Indigenous people on the island, and all of the various First Nations benefits were never extended to them. Also, this denial led to Canadians, particularly Newfoundlanders, scoffing at their contemporary claims of Indigenous ancestry. "Boggles credulity", I think was that Ottawa bureaucrat's response to half the island's population applying to join the First Nations band relatively recently established for them, ha! Which is... fair, yes, but also... unfair. Fascinating stuff. They still have no clear, proven reason why Joey Smallwood did this. Obviously there's all the prejudice, desire to "civilize" the Indigenous people, etc. that existed at that time. But it was never put down in writing anywhere why he claimed it, and why Canada accepted it even though all of the census data, etc., we provided them, and everything they had on us through their own studies, PRIOR TO CONFEDERATION, clearly indicated lots of Mikmaq people in Central and Western Newfoundland.