This week, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Canadians will wear poppies on their shirts and observe Remembrance Day. However, while most provinces and territories get a statutory holiday on November 11th, that’s not the case for a few others.
Remembrance Day ceremonies will be taking place from coast to coast this Thursday, with a moment of silence to reflect, give thanks and remember the ones who have fallen. This date is significant because it’s when the armistice agreement ended World War I.
November 11th is a federal statutory holiday in Canada, meaning that federal public service employees are given the day off. But, provinces aren’t required to opt into the public holiday, which would allow most employees who qualify to get the day off and receive public holiday pay.
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A total of nine provinces and territories observe Remembrance Day as a public stat holiday — Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Excluded from the November 11th stat holiday are Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Employers can choose to observe the holiday on their own and give their staff the day off, but otherwise, it’s business as usual in these provinces on Remembrance Day.
With the newly introduced National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, that means there are now three federal stat holidays within six weeks of each other.
However, many provinces chose not to recognize the late September holiday as a stat this year. Several plan to opt into the holiday next year, while others are just encouraging employers to close up for the day.
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Even if you’re working on Thursday, there are still many ways you can participate in this meaningful occasion. You can tune into the National Remembrance Day Ceremony virtually as it takes place in Ottawa, or find an in-person ceremony near you if you have the time.
You can also make a donation to the Poppy Fund which helps Canada’s veterans and their families. And of course, simply wearing your poppy goes a long way.
