| Civic Holiday | |
|---|---|
| Official name |
|
| Observed by | Canada (most jurisdictions) |
| Type | Public |
| Date | First Monday in August |
| 2023 date | August 7 |
| 2024 date | August 5 |
| 2025 date | August 4 |
| 2026 date | August 3 |
| Frequency | Annual |
Civic Holiday (French : congé civique) is a public holiday in Canada celebrated on the first Monday in August. [1]
Though the first Monday of August is celebrated in most of Canada as a public holiday, [2] it is only officially known as "Civic Holiday" in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, where it is a territorial statutory holiday.
In other provinces and municipalities, the holiday is known by a variety of names, including British Columbia Day in British Columbia, New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan Day in Saskatchewan; all of these places celebrate the date as a provincial statutory holiday.
The holiday is celebrated as Heritage Day in Alberta; [3] Natal Day in Nova Scotia, [4] in commemoration of the founding of the Halifax–Dartmouth area; Natal Day on Prince Edward Island celebrating the birth of the province; and as Terry Fox Day in Manitoba, in honour of the Manitoba-born athlete. [5]
The date is also celebrated as several municipal holidays in Ontario, such as Simcoe Day in Toronto, John Galt Day in Guelph, and Colonel By Day in Ottawa.
Despite its special designations, the day is not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, or Ontario; however, it is commonly observed by all levels of government, financial institutions and some businesses. [6]
The word civic is in reference to municipalities (such as cities, towns, etc.), as this day is not legislatively mandated a public holiday across the country by the Canadian federal government and is often given a different, more specific name by some municipalities or provinces.
In 1974, the Government of Alberta, acting through Minister of Culture Horst A. Schmid, declared the first Monday in August an annual holiday to recognize and celebrate the varied cultural heritage of Albertans, known as "Heritage Day". [3] This gave rise in 1976 to the Edmonton Heritage Festival, a three-day celebration of food, dance, and handicrafts of cultures from around the world. Heritage Day is not a statutory holiday but is often celebrated as such. [7] [8]
In 1974, Surrey MLA Ernie Hall, part of the BC NDP government of Dave Barrett, introduced legislation in the provincial legislature to establish the day as a provincial statutory holiday. [9]
As the name suggests, British Columbia Day, commonly referred to as "BC Day", [10] celebrates the history, heritage, and culture of British Columbia.
In Manitoba, the first Monday in August is celebrated as "Terry Fox Day" in honour of athlete and cancer research activist Terry Fox, who was born in Winnipeg in 1958. [5]
The province marked the first Terry Fox Day on 3 August 2015, making Manitoba the first province to name a day in Fox's honour. [11] British Columbia and Ontario have since begun to celebrate "Terry Fox Day" on the second Sunday of September, as that is usually the national date for the Terry Fox Run. [12]
In New Brunswick, the first Monday in August is celebrated as "New Brunswick Day".
It was first proposed in October 1974 by Progressive Conservative premier Richard Hatfield as part of his party's re-election platform. [13] It was first observed on Monday, 4 August 1975. [14]
In Nova Scotia, the first Monday in August is celebrated as "Natal Day" in the Halifax–Dartmouth area and Annapolis Royal, which began in 1895 as a celebration of the province's history. In the late 1900s, the rest of the province became entitled to celebrate a civic holiday, which falls on the same day as Natal Day. It is not a statutory holiday. [15]
Dartmouth Natal Day Road Race, one of the longest running road races in North America, is part of the Natal Day festivities in the Halifax Regional Municipality. [16]
In Ontario, the first Monday of August is technically a municipal holiday, as it is not designated as an official statutory holiday by provincial legislation. Various private member's bills have been introduced in the Ontario Legislature attempting to make it official, but none have passed to date. [17]
As such, the holiday takes on different names and celebrates different subjects according to municipality. Many Ontario municipalities have chosen to honour a significant local person or organization in order to localize the celebration; when not given a local name (such as in Mississauga), [18] the day is often generically referred to as "Civic Holiday" or "August Civic Holiday". [19]
In 2008, the Ontario Legislature passed a law identifying the first of August as "Emancipation Day", as the British Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire as of 1 August 1834. This still did not make it an official holiday, however. The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is held the same weekend in Toronto.
The Civic Holiday is now known by one of a number of local appellations, including, among others:
Although a work holiday is given to employees of the federal, provincial, and many municipal governments (usually by inclusion in the contract with the employees' union), [2] the Government of Ontario has not defined this day as a statutory holiday that all employers must treat as a holiday, and it is not mentioned in Ontario's Employment Standards Act nor the Retail Business Holidays Act. [29] [30]
Schools are generally already closed, regardless of the holiday's status, because of summer vacation.
In 1869, the city of Toronto became the first to introduce the civic holiday when the Toronto City Council called for a midsummer holiday for a "day of recreation". In 1875, the City Council fixed the first Monday in August as a Civic Holiday. [17]
The holiday was renamed "Simcoe Day" in 1969 in honour of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, who established York (now Toronto) as the capital of Ontario, and who was the leading proponent of the Act Against Slavery . [17] [25] [26] [27] However, a motion at the Ontario Municipal Association to extend the name change across Ontario failed. [27] [31] According to proclamations from the city, this name continues to apply in Toronto. [32]
The holiday is not an official holiday, although some businesses may close for the day. [33] Additionally, federal workers receive the day off and federal services are closed, but municipal and provincial services and workers have varying decisions made on their status, with some choosing to have a day off in celebration of the Gold Cup Parade instead. [34] This leads to a mix of openings and closings across the province. The capital city of Charlottetown has its own Natal Day, in early June, not to be confused with Nova Scotia's Natal Day. [35]
An official holiday on the first Monday in August was first proposed in Saskatchewan on 17 March 1975, by Gordon Snyder, Saskatchewan's Minister of Labour. The holiday was already celebrated by businesses across Saskatchewan, but Snyder wanted it to be a recognized statutory holiday known as "Saskatchewan Day". His proposal was approved in June of that year and the first Saskatchewan Day was celebrated that August. [36]
The first Monday of August in Saskatchewan is therefore a statutory holiday as designated in the Labour Standards Act. [17]
The first Monday in August is not generally observed as a holiday in Quebec, parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, or Yukon, but replacement summer holidays may be observed as follows:
Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the British North America Act, 1867, when the three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.
Lieutenant-General John Graves Simcoe was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded York, which is now known as Toronto, and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as courts of law, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and also in the abolition of slavery in Upper Canada.
Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the achievements of workers. It has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.
Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday observed on the last Monday preceding May 25 to honour Queen Victoria, who is known as the "Mother of Confederation". The holiday has existed in Canada since at least 1845, originally on Victoria's natural birthday, May 24. It falls on the Monday between the 18th and the 24th (inclusive) and, so, is always the penultimate Monday of May. Victoria Day is a federal statutory holiday, as well as a holiday in six of Canada's ten provinces and all three of its territories. The holiday has always been a distinctly Canadian observance and continues to be celebrated across the country. It is informally considered the start of the summer season in Canada.
National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada.
Events from the year 1981 in Canada.
Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, held on the second Monday in March. While the date holds some official status in select member states of the Commonwealth, observances of the date are not uniform across the Commonwealth, and the date is not celebrated as a public holiday in most Commonwealth countries.
The King's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch's actual birth.
Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.
Family Day is a public holiday in the countries of: Angola, Israel, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam, in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, in the American states of Arizona and Nevada; and as the second day of Songkran in Thailand. It was formerly observed in the Australian Capital Territory from 2007 to 2017.
Natal Day is a non-statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, Canada, celebrated on the first Monday in August. It coincides with other Civic Holidays across Canada.
The Canadian Automobile Association is a federation of eight regional not-for-profit automobile associations in Canada, founded in 1913. The constituent associations are responsible for providing roadside assistance, auto touring and leisure travel services, insurance services, and member discount programs within their service territories. The CAA National Office in Ottawa coordinates relations between the clubs, oversees joint initiatives, and lobbies the federal government. In 2020 and 2021, the Gustavson Brand Trust Index named CAA the most trusted brand in Canada.
The orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces, in which each province of Canada has devised a system of orders and other awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or province, are in turn subsumed within the Canadian honours system. Each province sets its own rules and criteria for eligibility and also for how each award is presented. Most of the awards allow for the recipients to wear their awards in public, and most grant the recipients the use of post-nominal letters after their names. Not all of the awards listed below are part of the Canadian honours system, thus some of them may not be worn or court mounted with awards that are part of the Canadian honours system.
Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual Canadian holiday held on the second Monday in October. Outside the country, it may be referred to as Canadian Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the American holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions.
In Canada, the federal government and all provinces and territories have enacted legislation setting election dates, usually every four years, one year sooner than the constitutionally set five year maximum life of a parliament. However, the governor general, lieutenant governors, and commissioners still have the legal power to call a general election on the advice of the relevant first minister at any point before the fixed date. By-elections, used to fill vacancies in a legislature, are also not affected by fixed election dates.
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States.
The 2009 Challenge Trophy was contested for in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from October 7 to 12, 2009. The round robin group seedings were based on last years performance.
In most provinces of Canada, the third Monday in February is observed as a regional statutory holiday, typically known in general as Family Day —though some provinces use their own names, as they celebrate the day for different reasons. The third Monday of February is observed as "Family Day" in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia (BC), New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan; as Louis Riel Day in Manitoba; as Nova Scotia Heritage Day in Nova Scotia; and as Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.
Labour Day is a statutory public holiday in Canada that occurs on the first Monday in September. It is one of several Labour Day celebrations that occur in countries around the world. The Canadian celebration of Labour Day occurs on the same day each year as Labor Day in the United States.
Since 2013, the civic holiday has been named Benjamin Vaughan Day in the city to honour the historical figure.
Discovery Day has been a territorial holiday that takes place on the third Monday of August. It celebrates the first gold found at Yukon's Bonanza Creek on August 17, 1896.
| Nationwide statutory holidays | |
|---|---|
| Statutory holidays for federal employees | |
| Indigenous holidays | |
| Other common holidays |
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