February 12, 2018

Family Day Here, Islander Day There

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Today is Family Day in British Columbia, but it will be on another date next year. The Premier of British Columbia John Horgan has decided that this holiday first celebrated  in this province in 2012 on the second Monday in February should probably stop being an outlier and be celebrated on the third Monday of February, like the other provinces who have adopted this holiday. All  of the provinces have a February holiday in some form except for Quebec and Newfoundland and the territories. Manitoba calls this “Louis Riel Day”, Nova Scotia calls it “Heritage Day” and in Prince Edward Island  it is “Islander Day”.  The Yukon has a Friday in February they call “Yukon Heritage Day.”
British Columbia has this holiday before the rest of Canada, and it did not compete with the third February Monday which is “Presidents Day” when a lot of American visitors come up to British Columbia. Adding the second February Monday holiday generates an extra ten million dollars for the Province’s ski hills. Of course tourism benefited by an additional   sets of people for the following long weekend too.
Synchronizing the holiday with the rest of Canada brought out the naysayers from the opposing Provincial political party, who said it “took aim” at tourism revenues. But the CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade welcomes the change stating “The misalignment of Family Day causes inconvenience, increased costs and lost opportunity for businesses of all sizes and in various industries.The economic benefit from this change will greatly assist our members, and especially small- and medium-sized businesses, across the province.”
Alberta was the province to start having a holiday in February in 1990. The premier of Alberta at the time stated that it was important for people to spend time with their families, and the holiday was to emphasize family values. Where ever you are, we wish you Happy Family Day from the editors of Price Tags Vancouver.
16940450Images: Metro News, Calgary Herald

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