Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
NEW ICELAND 150 CELEBRATION
Government House
Thursday, April 24, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Friends, fellow Manitobans, welcome to Government House and this celebration of a century and a half of resilience, growth, creativity and friendship.
As always, I acknowledge first that this gathering is being held in the heart of Treaty One land and the homeland of the Red River Metis and further, that the New Iceland we will explore tonight is part of a province located on the ancestral and treaty lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples.
The story of Manitoba is one of many peoples, gradually learning to work together in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
A related aspect of our story is Manitoba’s long history as a place of second chances, a haven for peoples driven from home by danger and destruction.
Tonight we celebrate a key chapter in that story, although in the case of the Icelanders who made their way here 150 years ago this fall, the destruction was wrought by the earth itself in the form of volcanic eruptions.
When they arrived on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, facing an early winter snowstorm in late October, it probably didn’t look likely that a celebration like this would be held someday.
But though the early years of the Icelandic presence were marked by disease, crop failure and desperate difficulty, those who held firm eventually established a creative, entrepreneurial, compassionate and open-hearted community.
In the arts and science, in business and public service, on the waters of Manitoba’s lakes and from the rich soil that attracted those early settlers, the Icelandic community has made innumerable contributions to our province, its people and its economy.
Manitobans appreciate those contributions not just during one of our favourite summer festivals, but throughout the year. And as the generations add up, the heritage of Iceland blends into a gloriously diverse population that cherishes cultures with roots that extend from our prairie soil to lands around the world.
On this day when we mark the beginning of summer in the old Icelandic calendar, I would to thank the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba for organizing this celebration.
And thank you to all who contribute their stories to the great book of the people of Manitoba.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
