The federal government has announced that Sept. 19, the date of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, will be a holiday for federal government employees. It’s up to the provinces to decide whether anyone else gets the day off.
Ottawa did not extend the holiday requirement to federally regulated industries, such as banks and airlines. Those industries may follow the government’s lead but won’t be forced to.
The Canadian Bankers Association says the country’s banks will observe a moment of silence on Monday but will remain open for normal business.
Provincial governments regulate about 85 to 90 per cent of workers in Canada. Here is how each province has decided to mark the Queen’s funeral.
CBC will have live televised coverage on Monday on CBC News Network, CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBCNews.ca and the CBC News app, as well as audio coverage on CBC Radio and the CBC Listen app.
Live coverage will get underway on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem and CBCNews.ca at at 5 a.m. ET on Monday. CBC Radio One will air special coverage of the Queen’s funeral starting at 5:30 a.m. ET, which will also be available on the CBC Listen app.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has declared Monday a one-off provincial holiday in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
Provincial government offices and schools will close. Other businesses and organizations will not be required to close or to treat the day as a paid holiday.
“Businesses and other organizations in the province are encouraged to commemorate Her Majesty in a manner that works best for them,” said a government news release.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia will recognize Sept. 19 as a provincial holiday.
Government offices and schools will be closed but health care services will continue.
A multi-faith memorial service will be held at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax at 2 p.m. local time. It will be livestreamed on the provincial government’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick will have a temporary provincial holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral. Government offices and schools will be closed for the day.
Books of condolence are available for members of the public to sign at Government House and at the legislature in Fredericton. Signatures are also being accepted online.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island will mark Sept. 19 as a statutory holiday for all provincially regulated workers, the government announced on Tuesday.
All government offices and schools will be closed.
A ceremony will be held at St. Peter’s Cathedral Church in Charlottetown at 2 p.m. local time and will be livestreamed online.
Quebec
Quebec Premier François Legault said the province will have a day of commemoration but won’t have a public holiday.
Ontario
Ontario will not be having a statutory holiday but will mark the date as a “day of mourning,” according to Premier Doug Ford’s office.
“This will give all Ontarians an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable life of Queen Elizabeth II and her unrelenting commitment to service and duty. It also allows students to be in school learning about the many contributions the Queen made to the people of Ontario,” Ford’s spokesperson Ivana Yelich said in a statement to CBC.
Ontario residents are being encouraged to observe a moment of silence at 1 p.m. ET on the day of the funeral.
Manitoba
Manitoba won’t have a statutory holiday and will instead have a “day of mourning,” a government news release said.
Non-essential government offices will be closed. Schools will remain open but classes are being encouraged to observe a moment of silence.
A 21-gun-salute will take place at the provincial legislature, followed by the firing of 96 rounds to represent each year of the Queen’s life.
A memorial service will be held at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral in Winnipeg at 7 p.m. local time.
Books of condolences are available at city halls in Winnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach and Thompson.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan will not be having a statutory holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral.
Instead, the province will have “a day in tribute and commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II,” a government news release said.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in Regina at 7 p.m. local time.
Books of condolences will be available for the public to sign at the provincial legislature, Regina and Saskatoon city halls and online at the lieutenant governor’s website.
Alberta
Alberta has declared a “provincial day of mourning’ to mark the Queen’s funeral. It won’t be an official holiday.
An outdoor ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the legislature building in Edmonton. It will begin with a moment of silence.
Schools and workplaces are being encouraged to take part in their own moments of silence and make other accommodations for employees who want to mark the passing of Her Majesty, a government news release said.
Books of condolences are available to sign at the legislature and other provincial buildings, as well as online.
British Columbia
The B.C. government says it will recognize the federal holiday and give government employees the day off.
Private sector employers are encouraged to mark the day in a way that is “appropriate for their employees,” a government release said.
All schools in the province will be closed.
Northwest Territories
School will still be in session, territorial government offices will still be open and business will continue as normal for most employees in the N.W.T. on Monday.
In a statement, N.W.T. Premier Caroline Cochrane said the territory’s public service is “much broader” than other areas of the country.
“Providing an additional holiday at this short notice would have far-reaching service delivery implications,” she said.
Cochrane said there would be a memorial event at the Legislative Assembly on Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. local time.
Yukon
The Yukon government said it will observe a one-time holiday for public sector employees on Monday.
Schools and government offices will be closed. Private sector employers are encouraged to observe the day in a way “suitable for their employees and operations,” a government news release said.
The national commemorative ceremony will be screened at the Jim Smith Building foyer in Whitehorse at 8 a.m. local time. A book of condolences will be available for signing.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
