Manitoba premier apologizes to men switched at birth in hospital for ‘terrible mistake’

Premier Wab Kinew stood in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly on Thursday and formally apologized to Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais for the mistake that sent them to the wrong homes after their births in 1955.

"I rise today to deliver an apology that has been a long time coming, for actions that harmed two children, two sets of parents and two families across many generations," Kinew said.

"We sincerely apologize for our failure to care for you, to protect you, to ensure that you would grow up with the love of the families who welcomed you into this world."

The two men, who were both born at an Arborg, Man., hospital on June 28, 1955, sat in the House as they received the apology their lawyer first requested in April 2022.

Ambrose is Métis but grew up believing he was Ukrainian; Beauvais is Ukrainian, Jewish and Polish, but always thought he was Métis.

The mistake wasn't discovered until recently, and both have said the shocking discovery has been difficult to handle.

WATCH | Premier apologizes in Manitoba Legislature to men switched at birth:

Events surrounding men switched at birth must be acknowledged and atoned for, says premier

5 hours ago

Duration 12:09

Premier Wab Kinew publicly apologized in the Manitoba Legislature to Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais and their families for the mistakes that led to them being switched soon after they were born, leading each man toward a life drastically different from the one they should have had.

"We are sometimes asked to understand empathy and compassion by considering what it's like to walk a mile in another person's shoes," Kinew said at the start of his speech.

"Our honoured guests here today will perhaps understand compassion and empathy on a level that very few of us will ever be able to approach."

Kinew, who met with the men before the apology, laid out some of the facts of their lives.

Both of Ambrose's parents died by the time he was 12, and Beauvais was taken from his home and lived with foster families, too, Kinew said.

He also outlined coincidences that cropped up during their lives.

Ambrose once asked his biological sister — who he didn't know was his sister at the time — to play on his baseball team at recess as a child, Kinew said. He also lived just a few blocks away from his biological sister in Winnipeg.

Beauvais once fished next to his own biological sister on a shoreline in B.C., and another time stopped for a drink at a bar she worked at.

"Both men have parents that they've never met, family members they forever lost the opportunity to forge relationships with," Kinew said.

"Both men are embracing the old but also building something new for themselves and for their families."

Since the mistake was discovered, Ambrose has obtained Manitoba Métis Federation citizenship. He's learning to bead and takes his grandson to powwows, Kinew said.

Beauvais has discovered that he was the only white man on what he believed was his all-Indigenous fishing crew in B.C., but he's making new connections with his birth family, and his daughter now has tattoos with the name "Ambrose."

The apology was offered "in a spirit of healing and reconciliation," Kinew said.

"A great Manitoban, Justice Murray Sinclair, has said that the need for reconciliation has often arisen in our country's history when we have denied children the ability to answer four basic questions: who am I, where do I come from, why am I here, where am I going," Kinew said, referring to the former senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

"The province of Manitoba made a terrible mistake that stood in the way of you being able to answer these questions for many, many years."