Two Canadian Men Learned They Were Switched At Birth 41 Years Ago

Two men, both 41 years old, from the western Canadian province of Manitoba, learned through DNA testing that they were switched at birth. They were born three days apart.

Leon Swanson and David Tait were switched as newborns in 1975 in a Norway House Hospital, which was then operated by the federal government. Both grew up knowing each other and became friends. They also live in the same Canadian community. After learning they were switched, they realized they were raised by the biological mother of the other. They were both devastated by the news and in tears, according to CBS News.

"What happened here is lives were stolen," said Eric Robinson, the former NDP member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Keewatinok. "You can't describe it as anything less than that."

Meanwhile, Tait said he wants answers on how such a switch could happen. "We don't have words," said Tait. "Forty years were gone ... just distraught, confused angry."

The suspicions arise that they could have been switched at birth because of the similarities they shared with each other's parents. Then, together with their families, they get DNA tests. Upon learning they were switched at birth, the community was rocked by the news of switching. According to CBC, this was the second time that switching of babies occurred at the Norway House Indian Hospital in 1975. The said hospital has been the birthing center of northern Manitoba, which was the only northern community that had a hospital in the 1970s.

"I can't describe this matter as anything less than criminal," Robinson said. He further said that you can live with one mistake, but two mistakes of a similar nature are not acceptable, so you can't simply slough it off as being a mistake, indeed it was a criminal activity in my view.

The Canadian Health Minister Jane Philpot was deeply troubled by the incident. She said that the health department would employ an independent party to investigate further.