Is Saskatchewan Day a Public Holiday?

Saskatchewan Day is a public holiday in Saskatchewan, where it is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

Jennifer Francis: The civic holiday on the first Monday of August means different things in each province, but how are we supposed to celebrate it? The name of the holiday is different all over Canada. It’s New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick, Terry Fox Day in Manitoba and Saskatchewan Day here.

A lot of people and businesses refer to it simply as Civic Holiday, but its official name is nothing new. It was first proposed on March 17, 1975, by Gordon Snyder, Saskatchewan’s minister of labour at the time. He said that the holiday was already celebrated by businesses across Saskatchewan but he wanted it to be a recognized statutory holiday. In the legislative document, Snyder said he wanted Saskatchewan residents to have more than just a day off, but one that was paid.

In the document, Snyder goes on to propose why an additional holiday would be needed. “Our prairie winters are usually harsh and long; our summers, while lovely and warm, are unfortunately quite short,” Snyder said. As to what people of Saskatchewan are supposed to do on the holiday, Snyder said no special celebrations are needed. “Saskatchewan Day instead will be another occasion on which Saskatchewan families can gather together to enjoy our great outdoors,” Snyder said.

The order was approved in June 1975 and the first official Saskatchewan Day happened a few weeks later.

Highlighted in yellow is the transcript from the legislative assembly meeting where Saskatchewan Day was proposed. (Submitted by Tourism Saskatchewan)