Why is Family Day celebrated?
We should know about the local and Statutory Holidays.
In Canada, Family Day was originally observed in Alberta in recognition of the importance of home and family to its founding pioneers.
The first Family Day was in observed in 1990. Almost 2 decades later additional provinces throughout Canada have adopted Family Day as well.
In most provinces of Canada, the third Monday in February is observed as a regional statutory holiday, typically known in general as Family Day (French: Jour de la famille)—though some provinces use their own names, as they celebrate the day for different reasons. The third Monday of February is observed as “Family Day” in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia (BC), New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan; as Louis Riel Day in Manitoba; as Nova Scotia Heritage Day in Nova Scotia; and as Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.
In Canada more generally, the third Monday in February has also been celebrated as Heritage Day, though this is not as an official holiday. This “Heritage Day” is observed by some in celebration of the country’s collective history, architecture, and cultural heritage.
In Quebec and the three territories, the third Monday in February is a regular working day. The same is true in Newfoundland and Labrador except in Corner Brook, where it is an unnamed civic holiday. In Yukon, however, one Friday in February (typically the last/near-last Friday)—rather than a Monday—is deemed Yukon Heritage Day.
Two-thirds of Canadians live in a province that observes a February statutory holiday. Some provinces have changed the observance day of their holiday to match the other provinces. As Family Day is not a federal statutory holiday, employees of the federal government (such as public servants and postal workers) work on this day in all provinces. The timing of Family Day also coincides with the United States’ holiday of Presidents’ Day (also known as Washington’s Birthday, among other names).
British Columbia
In British Columbia, a private member’s bill to establish Family Day on the third Monday in February was introduced in the BC Legislature by Liberal MLA Bob Chisholm in 1994 but failed to pass. Although there were renewed calls to introduce Family Day in BC between 2007 and 2011, it was opposed by the BC Chamber of Commerce and the government of Gordon Campbell.
On January 10, 2011, while running for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party, Christy Clark proposed establishing a Family Day holiday on the third Monday of February. Clark subsequently became premier; the Speech from the Throne, delivered on October 3, 2011, said that BC would observe its first Family Day on February 18, 2013.
In 2012, a two-week consultation process was held in order to determine if British Columbians preferred the holiday to fall on the second or third Monday in February.
On May 28, 2012, it was announced that Family Day would be observed on the second Monday in February each year, starting February 11, 2013.
As this did not coincide with Presidents Day, it also provided two consecutive long weekends for tourism, particularly at BC’s many ski resorts.
On February 9, 2018, the Government of British Columbia announced that Family Day would be moved to the 3rd Monday in February in 2019, to align their holiday with the rest of those provinces who observe it on that Monday.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/
Saturday, May 2, 2026
