Monday is Civic Day but what does that mean?

The Civic Holiday is one of Canada’s oldest public holidays which happens every year on the first weekend of August. Many across the country are looking forward to having a day off work, but many also don’t know why Toronto observes this holiday.

Adam Wynne is a heritage advocate researcher and has studied the significance behind this day.

“It was a municipality that originally proposed this holiday, and it spread from the municipality to the provincial level and across Canada and then over to England and then more broadly the British Empire,” says Wynne. “So John Carr was a local alderman, a councillor in this district of Toronto in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. And he was the person who actually brought forward the proposal to city council to make a holiday. ”

John Carr’s home still stands in the city and is located near Alexandra Park.

“This I think is quite unique for that period in that he, within the motion, said that it would specifically be an opportunity for the residents of Toronto to have time for leisure and recreation,” says Wynne.

Here in Toronto, the holiday has been renamed to pay homage to a historic military leader in Canada.

“John Graves Simcoe was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. He was also a proponent of the Anti-Slavery Act in Upper Canada,” says Wynne. “He had a very significant role in establishing the City of Toronto back in the late 18th century. So in 1969, the City of Toronto and the province of Ontario gave him the honorific title of Simcoe Day.”

Simcoe established towns, built roads and infrastructures, implemented trial by jury, and gave land grants to those who fought alongside the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. He was also responsible for building Yonge Street with the Queen’s Rangers military unit.

The holiday goes by a different name in several cities and towns in the province to honour other historic figures. In Burlington for example, the day has been named Joseph Brant Day, in Ottawa it goes by Colonel By Day, and John Galt Day in Guelph.

In Ontario, the day is referred to as Emancipation Day, marking the end of slavery in the British Empire.

While it’s not a country-wide holiday, many other provinces also celebrate with a long weekend, but the holiday goes by different names depending on the area. It’s known as Natal Day in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Regatta Day in Newfoundland, Heritage Day in Alberta, and British Columbia Day in B.C.

Since Civic Day is not considered an official statutory holiday in Ontario, businesses are not required to close on Monday under the provincial Retail Business Holidays Act and may open at the discretion of the municipality.