Let’s call the first Monday in August John Graves Simcoe Day

By MPP Toby Barrett

To The Haldimand Press

In Ontario, the upcoming August long weekend could be said to lack a distinct identity. The May 24 weekend commemorates Queen Victoria, but in many parts of the province, the day off in August is referred to by the somewhat uninspiring moniker of Civic Holiday.

On September 12, 2017, on the 226th anniversary to the day of the appointment of John Graves Simcoe as our first Lieutenant Governor in 1791, I rose in the Ontario Legislature to introduce legislation proclaiming the first Monday of each August as Simcoe Day. My goal is to recognize the contributions of John Graves Simcoe to our province, including his role in creating the first formal structures of democracy in our country.

In researching my legislation, I developed quite an admiration for John Graves Simcoe, his leadership of the Queen’s Rangers against George Washington’s army, and his creation of core institutions that anchor the success of present-day Ontario.

Born in 1752 in England, Simcoe, although best known as Ontario’s first Lieutenant Governor, was also a member of British Parliament. He was a colonial administrator, and as an army officer commanded the Queens Rangers during the Revolutionary War.