Family Day started in 1990 when Alberta Premier Don Getty’s son got arrested. You’re planning your long weekend right now. Maybe skiing, maybe nothing. The stat exists because Getty wanted to show family values after the scandal, or so the press claimed. Saskatchewan took 17 years to follow in 2007. BC waited until 2018. Every province eventually copied what might have been political damage control disguised as policy.

Ed Conroy notes the press hostility toward Ontario’s 2008 version. Another paid holiday we don’t need, they said. But here’s what changed. Families now spend time in the same room while everyone stares at different screens. The stat designed to force family connection arrived just as phones made real connection nearly impossible. That’s 99% of the problem according to Ed, who’s watched it play out. Some people still use the weekend to plan phone-free activities. Most don’t. In 1990 Lloydminster, neighbors on opposite sides of the street had different stats because of the provincial border.

The next time you’re scrolling alone on Family Day, you’ll remember it was created either to help families reconnect or to help a politician’s image recover. Possibly both. The irony is you probably need the break regardless of which story is true.

Topics: Family Day Alberta history, Don Getty political scandal, provincial stat adoption, family phone isolation, February holidays

GUEST: Ed Conroy | http://retrontario.com , @‌retrontario

RUNDOWN: Alberta created Family Day in 1990 after Premier Don Getty’s son’s arrest, sparking accusations of political theater. Ed Conroy maps how the controversial stat spread across Canada through 2018, culminating in BC’s alignment, while families became more isolated despite the connection-focused holiday.