As a child, Dwayne Wanner was tired of his father always joking that Wanner could receive child benefit until he was 18 and then switch to old-age pension.
On Thursday, Wanner will celebrate his 20th birthday in Burlington, Ontario. He was born on February 29, the leap day that occurs every four years. This makes him 80 years old.
While this means that his actual birthday is rarer than most people’s birthdays, he has always appreciated being one of the few.
“Being born in a leap year gives you a certain feeling of uniqueness. Not superiority or anything like that, but simply uniqueness,” Wanner said.
“And people remember your birthday without their computer having to tell them.”
Being born on February 29 is obviously a rarity. Between 2012 and 2022, 308,968 people were born in February, according to data from Statistics Canada. According to the federal agency, only 2,785 people were born on February 29.
Statistics Canada was unable to determine the total number of Canadians born on February 29 prior to publication of this article.
The birthday exists because the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced 442 years ago and specifies a year of 365 days, is slightly off. A solar year is actually 365.242 days long – about 365 and a quarter days. This difference is made up by adding an extra day to the calendar every four years.
Wanner says he was in second grade when he had his first big birthday. His teacher and classmates planned a surprise party, partly out of pity because he didn’t have a birthday.
“You know, ‘Poor Dusty, his birthday only comes every four years,'” he said.
LISTEN | Some of the benefits of being a leap year child:
Even though his birthdays are rare, Wanner wants to make the most of them.
“I try to use my birthday not only to raise a little money for other things, but also to make people realize that this is what they should all be doing,” he said.
Every four years he asks people to donate to causes close to his heart. This year he is trying to raise money for the Home of Love and Hope, a school for vulnerable children run by El Hogar in Honduras, as well as money to support a refugee family from Syria.
He has no interest in gifts for himself.
“Whatever you bring, I have three of them – if I could find it in my garage,” he said.
Celebrate like a 10-year-old
In Toronto, Branden Miller is also celebrating an important milestone on Thursday. Although he is technically turning 40, officially he is celebrating his 10th birthday.
“Most people say, ‘Oh, you’re 40,’ but I don’t see it that way. I’m 10,” he said. “I finally crested the hill and got into double digits. That’s a big milestone in my life.”
Miller in 1992, as he celebrated his second birthday and turned eight years old. (Submitted by Branden Miller)
Miller wants to celebrate like a 10-year-old boy. He and his friends will have a pizza party with donuts and balloons.
And what about the topic?
“Ninja Turtles,” said Miller.
When he sent out the invitations, a friend confused them with another party that he had to take his child to, Miller said.
LISTEN | Two official birthdays ago, Miller spoke to The Current:
Miller was born on one of the most memorable leap days in Canadian history. On February 29, 1984, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said, “It seemed like a good day for one last day,” and informed the Liberal Party that he was resigning.
Miller’s mother also made an important decision that day after the doctor asked her whether her son’s birth certificate should say February 28 or March 1.
“She said, ‘No, no, he was born on the 29th. It will say he was born on the 29th.'”
