WINNIPEG — Two men who were switched at birth almost 70 years ago are to receive an apology today from the Manitoba government.

Premier Wab Kinew is slated to offer the apology in the legislature chamber.

Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais were born in a municipally run hospital in Arborg, Man., in 1955 and were sent home with each other’s parents.

The truth came to light decades later, after one of them took an at-home DNA ancestry test.

Manitoba, under the former Progressive Conservative government, had said it was not involved in the mix-up because the hospital was operated by the municipality in the days before universal medicare.

But the men’s lawyer, Bill Gange, says the hospital received most of its funding from the province.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press