150 years ago, the Manitoba Act was passed by parliament turning Manitoba into Canada’s fifth province.

That moment in history is marked by Manitoba Day each year on May 12th.

Ron Schuler is the MLA for the Springfield-Ritchot riding. He notes making it to 150 is a big deal for our province but we still have a long way to go and a lot more to achieve. He says Manitobans have a great deal to be proud of.

"I drive around my community and I watch farmers out in the fields with their equipment starting to seed and I realize the 1.2 million Manitobans don't even come close to consuming what we produce. We export approximately 80% of what we produce so this morning some child somewhere in the world will get up and will be fed and it is because of the blessing of this province we call Manitoba."

Dennis Smook is the MLA for the La Verendrye riding south of Steinbach. He says Manitoba is the greatest province in the greatest country in the world. He notes with this being Mantioba’s 150th birthday it is disappointing that very few celebrations can go forward this year.

"There were a lot of celebrations planned in many communities but unfortunately with COVID-19 we have had to postpone them and Manitobans are extremely resilient so once we are done with COVID-19 I am sure Manitobans will be more than anxious to celebrate."

As COVID-19 numbers continue to remain low in the province, Schuler says this is a great time to live in this great province.

"I would suggest to you that there are a lot of places in the world that used to lord over us how much better they thought they were than us like New York and I am sure a lot of them today would say to themselves, you know, Manitoba would be a great place to be living right now. We have got blue skies, fresh water, clean air, we have got a handle on things now."

Both Schuler and Smook wish residents throughout southeastern Manitoba a happy Manitoba Day.