Civic Holiday

An extra day to relax doesn’t hurt. I am sure most people who got the Monday off thoroughly enjoyed it. Unlike the regular posts about school work, summer and productivity, I decided to choose a brief informative blog for the week. It seemed like a good idea to learn the reason behind the holiday.

Civic Holiday is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday of August in most of Canada. It is statutory for some provinces and has obtained legal status in the rest. While much of the Ontario calls it Civic holiday, it is known as British Columbia day on the west coast, Heritage day in Alberta and Simcoe Day in Toronto. As the names suggest, different places observe the holiday due to different reasons. In Alberta it is marks the celebration of the rich cultural heritage while in Toronto it was renamed Simcoe day to honor the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and the promulgator of the Act Against Slavery.

Furthermore, the holiday is known by local names in different municipalities of Ontario; Colonel By Day in Ottawa, Joseph Brant Day in Burlington and the list goes on. Edmonton Heritage Festival in Alberta and Scotiabank Caribbean Cultural Festival (formerly known as Caribana) are some popular events held during this holiday. Since the day falls in summer it gives people time to enjoy the weather outdoors. It is not generally observed in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Yukon.

To conclude, the August holiday has been used to celebrate the local culture, history and achievements in Provinces thus connecting people with the rich culture and diversity of this country.

Areej Shah is a graduate from the BBA program, University of Toronto. She currently works as the Marketing Coordinator at Grade Learning and shares her passion for communication and writing through informative social media posts and blogs.