Due to a technical error, the social media post we had written in honour of Louis Riel Day did not publish as planned on Monday, February 16, 2026. We unfortunately did not realize this until it was too late to publish it on our social media accounts.

We would like to pay our respects to this important date, therefore we are publishing that post below in honour of this important day.

Louis Riel Day – February 16

Today we honour the legacy of Louis Riel, a Métis leader whose leadership during the Red River Resistance helped lay the groundwork for the creation of Manitoba.

As President of the Provisional Government in 1869, Riel played a central role in shaping what would become the Manitoba Act and the province’s entry into Confederation.

For his resistance to the expansionist policies of the Canadian government, Louis Riel was charged with high treason and executed in 1885 — a decision widely recognized as a grave injustice rooted in colonial violence.

Riel also lived with significant mental health challenges. He was involuntarily committed to an asylum in Québec and diagnosed at the time with what were described as “delusions of grandeur.” Some historians suggest that, through a modern lens, his experiences may align with what we now understand as bipolar disorder, though historical diagnoses must be approached with care.

Louis Riel’s life reminds us that mental illness does not diminish a person’s worth or their ability to effect meaningful change. To all Manitobans navigating mental health challenges: your struggles do not define your impact — and your life matters.

#LouisRielDay #MétisHistory #ManitobaHistory #MentalHealthAwareness #MDAM #CommunityCare