Laurence’s national significance recognized

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Published on Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Banner file photo. This portrait of Margaret Laurence is on display at the Margaret Laurence Home Museum in Neepawa.

By Kira Paterson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The people of Neepawa may already see her as significant, but now the Government of Canada has officially recognized Margaret Laurence as a Person of National Historic Significance. 

Having been born in this small Manitoba town, most locals know who Laurence is. For those who may not know, or have heard the name but don’t know what she did, Margaret Laurence was a writer. She wrote novels, short stories and poems, many of which were set in the fictional town of Manawaka, based on her home town of Neepawa. One of her most well-known novels is named after one of Neepawa’s favourite landmarks, The Stone Angel. Another of her books, A Bird in the House, which is a collection of short stories, has been featured in English textbooks for high school classes. 

Her childhood home in Neepawa was named a Provincial Historic Site in 1987, just months after she passed away, and is a Star Attraction in Manitoba. It is a museum, of sorts, set up like a home with some of the original furniture, but also displaying her honorary degrees, her typewriter and other “artifacts” from her life as an author. 

Laurence had received much recognition and many honours for her works in her lifetime, including the Governor General’s Award in fiction and Companion of the Order of Canada. Twenty-nine years after her death, she was one of the 38 National Historic Designations named by Parks Canada in celebration of Heritage Day this year, which was on Feb. 15. 

A Person of National Historic Significance is defined on the Parks Canada website as someone who has made “an outstanding and lasting contribution to Canadian history”. They may be considered for recognition as early as 25 years after their death, or for Prime Ministers, immediately after their death. Political figures, athletes, artists, performers and educators, as well as literary figures, are among those who have been given the title. 

Laurence has given hope to people in small towns like Neepawa, showing the world that you don’t have to be from a big city to do big things. She has done her part to put Neepawa on the map and even after her death, she has left a lasting legacy of which this small town can be proud.