Statutory Canadian Holidays

Public Holidays In Canada & British Columbia

Are you visiting the Okanagan during public Canadian holidays? Here is information on Canadian stat holidays as well as BC provincial statutory holidays, with dates through 2014.

Canada celebrates national public holidays across all provinces, and in addition, here in British Columbia we also commemorate British Columbia Day, a BC provincial holiday.

These are the best holiday long weekends in the Valley! There's tons of stuff going on, fireworks, entertainment, music, family activities ...the whole sha-bang!

In BC, we also celebrate a few other special days of the year through festivals and fairs that commemmorate traditions in Canada and Canadian culture.

In Canada national holiday can be statutory, also known as "general" or "public" holiday and is legislated at the national, provincial and territorial levels.

During these long weekend holidays, some services such as banks and government offices may be closed.

Post offices, government offices, banks and many businesses and organizations, such as libraries, are closed on these national Canadian holidays. A few stores may be open depending on local customs. Public transport services may be reduced or may not run at all.

Of course, that does mean an extra day of R&R for some of us!

If you're here during summer, join in the fun for the Canada Day holiday weekend in July and British Columbia Day in August.

Public Holidays In Canada Observed In British Columbia

British Columbia Provincial Statutory Holidays

Along with national Canadian holidays, we recognize Provincial holidays in BC plus Easter Monday, which is a bank holiday and commemorated by federal employees. Banks, post offices, government offices, libraries, and some stores will be closed on Provincial holidays.

British Columbia Day

The first Monday in August is a statutory holiday in most Canadian Provinces and Territories. As Canadian holidays are, it's considered a 'civic holiday', and it's name changes from province to province, and even amongst different regions within a province, and here we call it British Columbia Day.

The British Columbia Day Act was first introduced to the Legislative Assembly in 1974. The aim of the Bill was to create a statutory holiday on the first Monday in August to recognize the pioneers in the province and the act gained royal assent in 1996.

Post offices and many businesses and organizations, such as libraries, are closed. A few stores may be open depending on local customs. Public transport services may be reduced or may not run at all. Mostly we spend a relaxing day with family and friends.

Other Important Dates & Canadian Holidays

Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays, however some local businesses choose to remain closed on these days.

Because Easter Monday is considered a holiday at the National level, federal and other government agencies such as post offices are closed. Banks remain open on Easter Monday Canadian holidays.

The day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is better known as Boxing Day, and is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with blow out boxing day sales everywhere.

The term Boxing Day may come from the opening of church poor boxes that day, or possibly from the earthenware boxes with which young boy apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters' clients. Other stories relate to servants being allowed to take a portion of the food left over from the Christmas celebrations in a box to their families. The International Ice Hockey Federation world junior hockey championships often start on December 26, Boxing Day and watching them on television is a popular, and to some, an important activity.

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