Civic Holiday
Official name
  • Civic Holiday (federal, NU, NT, ON)
  • British Columbia Day (BC)
  • Heritage Day (AB)
  • New Brunswick Day (NB)
  • Saskatchewan Day (SK)
  • Natal Day (NS)
  • Terry Fox Day (MB)
Observed byCanada (most jurisdictions)
TypePublic
DateFirst Monday in August
2022 dateAugust 1  (2022-08-01)
2023 dateAugust 7  (2023-08-07)
2024 dateAugust 5  (2024-08-05)
2025 dateAugust 4  (2025-08-04)
FrequencyAnnual

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; 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.

Alberta

Celebration of Heritage Day at the Edmonton Heritage Festival in 2015

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]

British Columbia

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.

Manitoba

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]

New Brunswick

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]

Nova Scotia

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]

Ontario

Caribana festivities in Toronto include the Parade of Bands on the civic holiday.

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 has passed to date.)[16]

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),[17] the day is often generically referred to as "Civic Holiday" or "August Civic Holiday".[18]

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. It still does not make it an official holiday, however. The Caribbean Cultural Festival, formerly known as Caribana, is held this holiday weekend in Toronto, coinciding with Emancipation Day.

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.[28][29]

Schools are generally already closed, regardless of the holiday's status, because of summer vacation.

Simcoe Day

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.[16]

The holiday was renamed "Simcoe Day" in 1969 in honour of John Graves Simcoe—who was 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.[16][24][25][26] However, a motion at the Ontario Municipal Association to extend the name change across Ontario failed.[26][30] According to a 2005 proclamation, this name continues to apply in Toronto.[31]

Prince Edward Island

The holiday is not an official holiday, although some businesses may close for the day.[32] 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 Gold Cup Parade instead.[33] 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, which should not be confused with Nova Scotia's Natal Day.[34]

Saskatchewan

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.[35]

The first Monday of August in Saskatchewan is therefore a statutory holiday as designated in the Labour Standards Act.[16]

Non-observing jurisdictions

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:

  • Quebec observes Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on 24 June.
  • In Yukon, Discovery Day is observed on the third Monday of August instead; it commemorates the 1896 discovery of gold in the territory and the start of the Klondike Gold Rush.[36][37]
  • In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Shops Closing Act provides for a civic holiday on the date of the Royal St. John's Regatta (usually the first Wednesday of August) in St. John's, the date of the Harbour Grace Regatta (usually the fourth Saturday in July) in Harbour Grace, and a date fixed by the applicable municipal council in all other municipalities.[38] Several of these communities use the first Monday in August as a civic holiday, while others have not selected any date.
    • Due to the cancellation of the Royal St. John's Regatta in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic , the city made a one-time exception, with provincial approval, setting the first Monday of August that year as the civic holiday instead, in alignment with the other observing jurisdictions.[39][40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Public holidays". Canada Revenue Agency. 21 January 2016. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Holidays in the provinces and territories". Canadian Heritage. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Heritage Festival Edmonton – The Festival History". Heritage-festival.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Natal Day in Canada". timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 "August holiday to be named Terry Fox Day, Manitoba premier says". Global News. July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Kudelik, Gail. 2009 August 9. "Civic Holiday Archived 9 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine." The Canadian Encyclopedia (last edited on 2015 July 24).
  7. ↑ "Employment standards rules – Alberta general holidays". Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Statutory holidays in Alberta for 2021 and 2022". Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Hoekstra, Matthew (29 July 2016). "B.C. Day is more than just a day off". Peace Arch News. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "What's open on the BC Day long weekend in Vancouver | Listed". dailyhive.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  11. ↑ www.cubiclefugitive.com. "Manitoba marks first Terry Fox Day". www.tfri.ca. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Terry Fox Day : Pearson". www.pearsoncanadaschool.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "N. B. Holiday Propose". The Moncton Transcript. 28 October 1974. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Transportation Services Ready For Holiday Weekend". The Moncton Transcript. 1 August 1975. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Remember This? The Origins of Natal Day". CityNews. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "CanadaInfo: Symbols, Facts, & Lists: Holidays: First Monday in August Holiday". www.craigmarlatt.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  17. ↑ "The History Behind the Civic Holiday". Modern Mississauga Media Ltd. 29 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020. There was some discussion, back in the early 2000s, of naming the Civic Holiday in Mississauga after Reverend Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby, 1802-1856), a renowned Chief of the Mississaugas at the Credit River, but this was not formally adopted. The official name for the holiday here remains the Civic Holiday.
  18. ↑ "What's open/closed on holiday Monday". Therecord.com. August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  19. ↑ Washburn, Robert (2 August 2010). "Happy James Cockburn Day, Cobourg!!!". Consider This. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  20. ↑ "George Hamilton Day". Hamilton.ca. City of Hamilton. 10 July 2019. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  21. ↑ Weymark, Jennifer (1 August 2018). "Celebrating McLaughlin Day in Oshawa". The Oshawa Express. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020. The August long weekend has not always been known as McLaughlin Day in Oshawa. Up until 1983, it was simply known as the Civic Holiday. The proposal to celebrate McLaughlin family, in particular R. S. McLaughlin, on the Civic Holiday was initiated by Alderman Ed Kolodzie. He felt there was a need to recognize the impact of the McLaughlin family on the city and city council decided that the Civic Holiday was the perfect day to do so.
  22. ↑ "Colonel By Day". Heritage Ottawa. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020. Colonel By Day, held on the holiday Monday in August each year (in recognition of the Colonel's birth date of August 7, 1779) is an annual celebration of the history of the Rideau Canal and Bytown's founder, Lieutenant Colonel John By.
  23. ↑ Boyce, Josh (7 August 2017). "Sarnia Recognizes Alexander Mackenzie Day". BlackburnNews.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020. Since the late 1990s, the Civic holiday in Sarnia has been known as Alexander Mackenzie Day in recognition of Canada's second Prime Minister.
  24. 1 2 "Civic Holiday to be Renamed Simcoe Day". Toronto Daily Star. 12 December 1968. p. 1.
  25. 1 2 West, Bruce (4 August 1969). "Simcoe's Day". Globe and Mail. p. 17.
  26. 1 2 3 "A holiday with history". Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  27. ↑ Kundacina, Anja (16 June 2020). "Vaughan Wants To Change The Name Of A Holiday That Celebrates A Slave Owner". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020. Since 2013, the civic holiday has been named Benjamin Vaughan Day in the city to honour the historical figure. However, the city is now under pressure to change both the name of their city as well as the civic holiday due to the history of racism that the title carries.
  28. ↑ "Employment Standards Act, 2000". Government of Ontario. 2000. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  29. ↑ "Retail Business Holidays Act". Government of Ontario. 1990. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  30. ↑ "Municipal Group Won't Condemn Regional Rule". Toronto Daily Star. 19 December 1968. p. 11.
  31. ↑ "Proclamation: Simcoe Day". Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  32. ↑ Toolkit, Web Experience (21 December 2017). "Paid Holidays". www.princeedwardisland.ca. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  33. ↑ "Aug. 6 holiday: What's open and closed on P.E.I." CBC News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  34. ↑ "Charlottetown will celebrate its 162nd birthday with Natal Day events". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  35. ↑ "What is Saskatchewan Day and how do we celebrate it?". CBC News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  36. ↑ Reinauer, Elke. "Discovery Days: Celebrating Yukon's Unique Holiday". Whats Up Yukon Events Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023. ...as a public holiday, in 1911. Since then, 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
  37. ↑ "Discovery Day honours Yukon's Gold Rush past". CBC News. 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  38. ↑ "Public Advisory: 2015 Shop Closing Holidays". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  39. ↑ "Regatta holiday on a Monday? COVID-19 really has changed everything". CBCNews.ca. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  40. ↑ "Regatta Day Replacement Holiday Officially Set for August 3". VOCM.com. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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