Happy August Holiday -- Whatever You Call It!

The first Monday in August is a holiday all across Ontario.

But the holiday is called different things in different areas.In fact, the first Monday in August is a municipal holiday.

The Civic Holiday is not designated as an official statutory holiday by provincial legislation. In the past few years, a number of private member's bills have been introduced in the Ontario Legislature attempting to make it official, but none has passed to date.

The concept of a midsummer holiday in Toronto dates as far back as 1869. In Toronto today, the holiday is celebrated as Simcoe Day, but according to recent studies, only 16% of the population actually knows that.

While other Ontario municipalities have chosen to honour a significant local person or organization to help focus the celebration (see a selection in the chronology below), in most municipalities the day is referred to as the August Civic Holiday.

The table below presents a selection of events in the history of the August Civic Holiday in Ontario.

1869 - Toronto City Council originated a midsummer holiday for a "day of recreation".

1871 - A Bank Holiday was established by the House of Commons in England. Sir John Lubbock declared that Toronto in Canada had found an August holiday "advisable and satisfactory."

1875 - Perhaps after the precedent set by Sir John Lubbock, Toronto City Council fixed the first Monday in August as a Civic Holiday.

1968 - Toronto City Council officially called the civic holiday Simcoe Day after Major-General John Graves Simcoe, who was appointed the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada on September 12th, 1791. He convened the first Legislative Assembly and established York (now Toronto) as the capital of the province. One of his crowning achievements was to begin the phasing out of slavery in Upper Canada, which officially ended in 1810 - 23 years before it was abolished in the British Empire and 55 years before the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States.

1980 - Burlington celebrates the holiday as "Joseph Brant Day." Joseph Brant was a Mohawk Chief who became known for his treaty negotiations and loyalty to the British.

1982 - The City of Brantford adopted a policy that stated that the civic holiday be named "Founders' Day". Each year, the Brantford Heritage Committee submits a report to City Council with the name or organization that is to be recognized on that day.

1983 - Oshawa City Council passed a resolution to recognize the holiday as "McLaughlin Day" in honour of the late Colonel R.S. McLaughlin, who brought General Motors to Oshawa. See Parkwood Estate and Oshawa - still motoring after 75 years.

1996 - The City of Ottawa passed a by-law proclaiming the Civic Holiday as "Colonel By Day". John By (1779-1836) was a British Lieutenant-Colonel and military engineer. His most noteworthy achievement was the building of the Rideau Canal and Bytown (now Ottawa) was named after him.1998 - Sarnia City Council passed a resolution declaring the holiday "Alexander Mackenzie Day". The Honourable Alexander Mackenzie was Canada's second Prime Minister from 1873-1878.

1999 - The Town of Cobourg proclaimed the holiday as "James Cockburn Day". James Cockburn was a father of Confederation and represented the riding of Northumberland West in the Legislative Assembly of Canada, 1861-67.2006 - Guelph City Council passed a by-law proclaiming the holiday as "John Galt Day" in honour of its founder, Scottish novelist and businessman, who founded the City of Guelph on April 23, 1827 when he was superintendant of the Canada Company.