National Patriots' Day in Quebec

May 18, 2026
00:00 12:52
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Officially known in French as La Journée nationale des Patriotes, National Patriots' Day is a provincial holiday in Quebec observed annually on the Monday preceding May 25, while the rest of Canada take the day off work to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday, known as Victoria Day. National Patriots' Day commemorates the 1837-1838 Rebellions in Lower Canada and honors the Patriots who fought the British colonial power for political freedom, democracy, and national recognition. The Patriots, led by figures like Louis-Joseph Papineau, staged an armed rebellion against British colonial rule to establish a democratic and representative government. For a while, the holiday was known as Dollard and Chenier Day, to immortalize garrison commander of Fort Ville-Marie (now Montreal) and Adam Dollard des Ormeaux Jean-Olivier Chénier (1806-37), a Patriot commander killed in action during the1837 Battle of Saint-Eustache. National Patriots' Day falls on the cusp of warmer weather, it is widely treated by Quebecers as the unofficial start of the summer season. Canada’s civil war ended unsuccessfully with the deporting, in chains, of nine prominent French Canadians to the tropical “Island Paradise” of Bermuda as political prisoners. They became Bermuda's famous French Canadian Exiles.

Check out the YouTube version of this episode at https://youtu.be/nSkn6A-q63s which has accompanying visuals including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams.

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