For those who’re scrolling by means of social media at the moment and questioning why everyone outside Quebec appears to be posting brunch pics and ski journey selfies on a Monday, here is your reply: it is Family Day.
For many Canadians, at the moment is a statutory vacation — a mid-winter break designed to provide individuals time with family members and a much-needed pause between the New 12 months’s hangover and Easter. However in Quebec? It is simply one other Monday.
You are not lacking something in your calendar. Quebec merely would not observe Household Day, and it by no means has.
Why most of Canada will get at the moment off
Household Day began popping up within the Nineteen Nineties as a response to the brutal stretch between January 1 and Good Friday. That is over three months with no breaks, and provinces figured staff may use a protracted weekend someplace within the center.
Most provinces that remember it keep on with the third Monday in February. That features Ontario, Alberta, BC, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
Just a few provinces put their very own spin on it. PEI calls it Islander Day. Manitoba honours Louis Riel. Nova Scotia goes with Heritage Day.
So why is Quebec working at the moment?
There is no official motive Quebec skips Household Day. The province simply by no means obtained on board when different locations began adopting it.
However for those who’ve lived right here lengthy sufficient, it isn’t stunning. Quebec has all the time marched to its personal beat with regards to holidays — particularly those tied to Canadian identification or custom.
Victoria Day? Quebec celebrates Journée nationale des patriotes as a substitute. Canada Day? Most individuals right here affiliate July 1st with transferring vans, not fireworks. And holidays like Remembrance Day and the Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation aren’t even paid days off for many Quebec staff.
How Quebec stacks up on stat holidays
Quebec gets eight statutory holidays a year. That is fewer than Ontario’s 9 and nicely beneath BC’s 11.
What Quebec observes:
- New 12 months’s Day (January 1)
- Good Friday (generally swapped for Easter Monday)
- Journée nationale des patriotes (final Monday earlier than Could 25)
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24)
- Canada Day (July 1)
- Labour Day (first Monday in September)
- Thanksgiving (second Monday in October — technically elective however broadly noticed)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
What Quebec skips:
- Household Day (at the moment, clearly)
- Civic Vacation (first Monday in August)
- Nationwide Day for Fact and Reconciliation (September 30)
- Remembrance Day (November 11)
- Boxing Day (December 26)
So whereas greater than half the nation is having fun with a three-day weekend and also you’re observing your inbox — it is laborious to not really feel such as you’re lacking out.