Victoria Day Parade Wins Gold as Ontario Businesses Gain Holiday Opening Option

Key facts

• Greater Victoria Festival Society won gold in Best Market/Fair or Festival at the Canadian Event Awards.
• The 125th annual Victoria Day Festival Weekend faced competition including the Invictus Games in Vancouver.
• Ontario amended the Retail Business Holidays Act to remove Victoria Day and Family Day from mandatory closure rules.
• The amendments received royal assent and were passed in the legislature this spring.
• Victoria Day falls on May 18 this year; the parade in Victoria is scheduled for the same day.
• The Thrifty Foods 126th Victoria Day Parade will follow a new route starting near the B.C. legislature.
• Employees in Ontario retain public holiday pay and the right to refuse work under the Employment Standards Act.
• The GVFS operates on a small budget; competing events often have budgets of $250,000 or more.

A Small Team Triumphs Over Giants

The Greater Victoria Festival Society (GVFS) has won a national award for its 125th annual Victoria Day Festival Weekend, a milestone event that took place last year. On Wednesday night, the society earned gold in the Canadian Event Awards’ Best Market/Fair or Festival category, besting competitors that included the Invictus Games in Vancouver. “There were nine or 10 people in our category and one of them was Invictus,” said Kelly Kurta, executive director of the GVFS. “We thought we didn’t have a chance.” The victory is especially notable given the disparity in resources: many rival events operate with budgets of $250,000 or more, while the GVFS team is small and runs on a shoestring.

Judges Evaluated Sustainability, Risk, and Engagement

The award category considered criteria such as appeal, sustainability, vendor engagement, attendee interaction, and risk management. The GVFS’s 125th edition evidently met all benchmarks, despite the society’s limited financial firepower. Kurta expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed, saying, “It feels incredible. We put in a lot of hard work and we’re a small team and we’re super committed to make this happen, and we have such a small budget. Competing with the big guys and big guns in Toronto is huge.”

Ontario Rewrites Holiday Retail Rules

In a separate development, Ontario has amended its Retail Business Holidays Act to allow more businesses to stay open on Victoria Day. The changes, announced in March and passed in the legislature this spring, have received royal assent, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement. Victoria Day and Family Day will be removed from the list of holidays requiring most businesses to close, though they remain listed as public holidays. Employee protections under the Employment Standards Act — including public holiday pay and the right to refuse work for many retail employees — will still apply. The province stated that the two non-religious statutory holidays are well suited for a harmonized retail framework, and it is not considering changes to other holidays.

New Route and Budget Challenges for 2025 Parade

This year’s Victoria Day Parade, scheduled for May 18, will be scaled down compared to the 125th anniversary edition. The Thrifty Foods 126th Victoria Day Parade will follow a different route, starting near the B.C. legislature and heading up Government Street then Wharf Street before looping back. Previously, the parade departed from the Mayfair mall area and entered the Inner Harbour. Kurta said the new route and safety requirements present budget and logistics challenges. “I’m positive, I love the parade weekend, it’s one of my favourite weekends, but I guess I’m saddened with the change in the route,” she said. CHEK will broadcast and livestream the event.

Business Owners Decide, Workers Gain Options

Under Ontario’s new rules, the decision to open on Victoria Day rests with individual business owners. They can either remain closed or give employees the option to work for extra pay. The province said the changes will address inconsistencies across municipalities, enhance consumer convenience, and offer more choice to workers. In York Region, for example, stores are already allowed to stay open on statutory and non-statutory holidays except Christmas Day. Victoria Day in Ontario will now be treated similarly to the Civic Holiday Monday in August, a public holiday that already permits many businesses to remain open. Existing provincial and municipal authority to require retail business closures on all other public holidays is maintained.

A Tale of Two Holidays: Celebration and Commerce

The award in Victoria and the regulatory shift in Ontario both underscore the evolving significance of Victoria Day. In British Columbia, the GVFS’s gold medal highlights the cultural and community value of a tradition that has endured for 125 years, sustained by a dedicated volunteer-driven organization. In Ontario, the legislative change reflects a pragmatic approach to retail operations, balancing worker protections with business flexibility. As the May 18 holiday approaches, the parade in Victoria will proceed with a modified route and a smaller scale, while Ontario retailers weigh whether to open their doors. The common thread is adaptation: a festival society adjusting to budget constraints and a province harmonizing its holiday rules.

The bottom line

• The GVFS won gold at the Canadian Event Awards for its 125th Victoria Day Festival Weekend, beating the Invictus Games.
• Ontario removed Victoria Day and Family Day from mandatory retail closure rules; businesses may now choose to open.
• Employees in Ontario retain public holiday pay and can refuse work on Victoria Day under the Employment Standards Act.
• The 126th Victoria Day Parade in Victoria will follow a new route starting near the B.C. legislature on May 18.
• The GVFS operates on a small budget, making its award win against well-funded competitors particularly significant.
• Ontario’s changes aim to create a consistent retail framework for non-religious statutory holidays across municipalities.