Most shops and supermarkets open from about 9am to 5.30pm Monday to
Saturday, though in bigger towns and cities supermarkets and malls may
open as early as 7.30am and close around 9pm. Enforced Sunday closing of
shops, bars and restaurants operates over much of the country, but a
growing number of provinces now have limited Sunday hours, usually 9am
to 5pm, particularly in touristy areas. As a general rule, between BC
and Québec there are limited Sunday opening hours; and east of Québec
shops will be shut on Sunday. Many retail shops open late on Thursday
and Friday evenings. In cities you usually find a pharmacist open 24
hours and there's often a convenience store like Mac's or 7-11 that's
open around the clock.
Time of year makes a big difference to opening times of information
centres, museums and other attractions, most of which, particularly in
remote areas, have shorter winter hours or close altogether from late
September to mid-May. In cities, more upmarket restaurants usually open
from around noon to 11pm, longer at weekends; many diner-type places,
however, close around 8pm, and small-town restaurants tend to close
early too. Opening regulations for bars - often part of a hotel or
restaurant - vary tremendously from province to province; most open
daily from 10am to 1am, but in certain areas all bars except a few hotel
lounges are shut on Sunday.
National holidays
New Year's Day (Jan 1) Good Friday Easter Sunday Easter Monday Victoria
Day (third Mon in May) Canada Day (July 1) Labour Day (first Mon in Sept)
Thanksgiving (second Mon in Oct) Remembrance Day (Nov 11) Christmas Day
(Dec 25)
Provincial holidays
Alberta Alberta Family Day (third Mon in Feb); Heritage Day (first Mon
in Aug).
British Columbia British Columbia Day (first Monday in August).
New Brunswick New Brunswick Day (first Mon in Aug).
Newfoundland and Labrador St Patrick's Day (March 17); St George's Day
(third Mon in April); Discovery Day (third Mon in June); Memorial Day
(first Mon in July); Orangeman's Day (third Mon in July).
Nova Scotia, Manitoba, NWT, Ontario and Saskatchewan Civic Holiday
(first Mon in Aug).
Nunavut Nunavut Day (April 1).
Québec Epiphany (Jan 6); Ash Wednesday; Ascension (forty days after
Easter); Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24); All Saint's Day (Nov 1);
Immaculate Conception (Dec 8).
Yukon Discovery Day (third Mon in Aug)
Time zones
Canada has six time zones, but only 4.5hrs separate Newfoundland from
British Columbia. Newfoundland is on Newfoundland Standard Time (3hr
30min behind GMT); the Maritimes and Labrador are on Atlantic Standard
Time (4hr behind GMT); Québec and most of
Festivals and events
For further details of the selected festivals and events listed below,
including more precise dates, see the relevant page of the Guide , or
contact the local authorities direct. The provincial tourist offices can
provide free calendars for each area.
JANUARY
Polar Bear Swim , Vancouver, BC. A New Year's Day swim in the freezing
waters of English Bay Beach - said to bring good luck for the year.
Banff/Lake Louise Winter Festival , Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta. Ski
races, skating parties and the incredible International Ice Sculpture
Competition on the shores of Lake Louise.
FEBRUARY
Winterlude , Ottawa, Ontario. Winter-warming activities like ice
sculpting, snowshoe races, ice boating and skating for all on the canal.
Winter Carnival , Québec City, Québec. Eleven-day festival of
winter-sports competitions, ice-sculpture contests and parades. Includes
the Canadian ski marathon when skiers race between Lachute and Gatineau.
MARCH
Pacific Rim Whale Festival , Vancouver Island, BC. Celebrating the
spring migration of grey whales with lots of whale-spotting expeditions
as well as music and dance events.
APRIL
TerrifVic Jazz Party , Victoria, BC. Dixieland, and other jazz bands,
from around the globe.
Shaw Festival , Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Highly regarded theatre
festival featuring the work of George Bernard Shaw and his
contemporaries. Performances from April to late October.
MAY
Apple Blossom Festival , Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
Community-oriented festival held in the small towns and villages of the
apple-producing Annapolis Valley.
Stratford Festival , Stratford, Ontario. The small town of Stratford is
well-known for its first-class Shakespeare Festival. Runs from May to
early November.
Canadian Tulip Festival , Ottawa, Ontario. Three million tulips in an
orgy of colour all over the city.
JUNE
Jazz City International Festival , Edmonton, Alberta. Ten days of jazz
concerts, free outdoor events and workshops.
Banff Festival of the Arts , Banff, Alberta. Young-artist showcase -
music, opera, dance, drama, comedy and visual arts.
International Blues Festival , Halifax, Nova Scotia. Big musical event
showcasing the best of US and Maritime blues.
Metro International Caravan , Toronto, Ontario. Nine-day multiethnic
celebration with some fifty pavilions dotted across the city.
International Jazz Festival , Montréal, Québec. 2000 jazz acts,
including the world's top names, and 75 percent of the performances are
free.
JULY
Pow-wows . Traditional aboriginal celebrations that take place on
reserves across the country in July and August.
Calgary Stampede , Calgary, Alberta. One of the biggest rodeos in the
world: all the usual cowboy trappings, plus hot-air-balloon races,
chuck-wagon rides, craft exhibitions, native dancing and a host of other
happenings. Billed as the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth".
Klondike Days , Edmonton, Alberta. Pioneer era in Edmonton revisited
with gold panning, raft races, pancake breakfasts and gambling.
Loyalist City Festival , Saint John, New Brunswick. Celebration of the
city's loyalist heritage with parades in period costume.
Antigonish Highland Games , Antigonish, Nova Scotia. All sorts of
traditional Scottish sports and activities recall the settlement of the
area by Highlanders.
Atlantic Jazz Festival , Halifax, Nova Scotia. First-class jazz festival
pulling in big names from round the world.
Canada Day , Ottawa, Ontario and throughout Canada. Fireworks, parades
and a day off for patriotic shenanigans.
Caribana Festival , Toronto, Ontario. Large-scale West Indian carnival
with music, dance and a flamboyant parade.
Festival d'Été , Québec City, Québec. Arts performances, live bands and
other shows on and off the sun-filled streets and parks of Québec City.
Juste Pour Rire , Montréal, Québec. The funniest festival in Canada.
Internationally acclaimed comic get-together with comedians from around
the world performing in theatres and outdoor stages.
AUGUST
Fringe Theatre Festival , Edmonton, Alberta. One of North America's most
prestigious alternative-theatre festivals.
Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival , Squamish, BC. The continent's
biggest lumberjacks' convention with impressive logging competitions.
Acadian Festival , Caraquet, New Brunswick. Celebration of Acadian
culture in the northeast of New Brunswick.
Miramichi Folk Song Festival , Newcastle, New Brunswick. New Brunswick's
prestigious folk festival, featuring many of the finest fiddlers in the
Maritimes.
Nova Scotia Gaelic Mod , South Gut, St Ann's, Nova Scotia. Seven-day
Scottish heritage knees-up with all traditional sports, crafts and
contests featured. One of the biggest and best of many similar events in
Nova Scotia.
World Film Festival , Montréal, Québec. Eclipsed by Toronto's new film
festival, but still a good showcase for new movies.
SEPTEMBER
Toronto International Film Festival , Toronto, Ontario. Internationally
acclaimed film festival spread over ten days, inundated with Hollywood
stars.
OCTOBER
Vancouver International Film Festival , Vancouver, BC. Another of
Canada's highly rated film fests.
Okanagan Wine Festival , Okanagan, BC. One of the many wine events in
this vine-growing region.
Oktoberfest , Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Alcohol and cultural events
in honour of the twin towns' roots.
NOVEMBER
Canadian Finals Rodeo , Edmonton, Alberta. Pure Canuck rodeo.
Royal Agricultural Winter Fair , Toronto, Ontario. The world's largest
agricultural indoor fair, apparently.
DECEMBER
Coral Ships , Vancouver, BC. When carol singers sail around Vancouver
harbour in sparkly boats.
New Year's Eve , throughout Canada, but celebrated in style in St
John's, Newfoundland, where everyone heads from the pub to the
waterfront for a raucous midnight party.
Holidays
Banks, schools and government buildings all over the country close on
Canada's national holidays , and within specific regions on the
provincial holidays that fall on certain - often moveable - days
throughout the year. Many shops, restaurants, museums and sights remain
open, however. Campsites, smaller information centres, B&Bs and many
resort hotels often use Victoria Day and Labour Day or Thanksgiving as
markers for their open and closed seasons. University students have
their holidays from May to early September (plus a one- or two-week
break in March), while schoolchildren take theirs from the end of June
to Labour Day.
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