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In Canada, every year, we celebrate a holiday on the first Monday of August. It has different names according to the province. Most people just refer to it as Civic Holiday. But in Ontario, this holiday is called Simcoe Day, named after the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe. He founded York, which later became this fantastic city we all know and love, Toronto. But you may be wondering, who is John Graves Simcoe, and why do I care? Well, first of all, it’s part of the history of the country. But, if you’re planning to one day take the Canadian citizenship test, you’ll need to know who he was. I’m not going to turn this episode into a lecture, so if you want to know more about him, I’ll add some links on the episode notes. I want to mention here why he is remembered and why there is a holiday in his name. Back in 1793, when Simcoe was Lieutenant Governor, Upper Canada became the first province in the British Empire to move toward the abolition of slavery. Then, in 1807, the British Parliament prohibited the buying and selling of slaves, and in 1833 abolished slavery throughout the empire. That is 40 years after Upper Canada did it. The abolition of slavery in Upper Canada led to thousands of slaves escaping the United States following the so-called “North Star” and settled in Canada via the Underground Railroad. So there you have it. This coming holiday is called Simcoe day in Ontario because of all this. Lean more about Simcoe Day or John Graves Simcoe Wikipedia: John Graves SimcoeCBC Simcoe Day: Canada's roots in slavery and the historic abolitionCity News: What is Simcoe Day Subscribe & Follow! Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts! And, if you haven’t done so already, follow Immigrants of Toronto on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me on social media, I reply to every message I receive. If this podcast has helped you in any way, I really want to hear about it! You can go to the website and click on Send Voicemail and leave a sweet message that I will most certainly feature on an episode. Honestly, every time I hear that what I’m doing is helping, it makes all the effort worthy. Lastly, if you’re an immigrant and want to share your story on the show, go to immigrantsoftoronto.com/join and fill out the form to schedule your interview. Thanks for listening, I’m Oscar Cecena, and this is Immigrants of Toronto.