B.C. residents can no longer brag to the rest of the country that they have a day off earlier in February than the rest of them — nor envy the day off the rest of them enjoy later.
The province has moved its Family Day holiday from the second Monday in February to the third one, as per an order-in-council that was passed on Monday.
Coverage of Family Day in B.C. on Globalnews.ca:
The move lines up B.C.’s Family Day with the one celebrated in other provinces.
The BC NDP government announced in February that Family Day would be moved, but the change didn’t become official until Monday.
“Moving Family Day is the right thing to do for businesses small and large, and is better for families who may be spread out across the country,” Premier John Horgan said at the time.
The BC Liberals introduced Family Day in 2013 in an attempt to give British Columbians a chance to hit the ski hills without having to compete with visitors from elsewhere.
But the day off made no difference for federal employees and others who had to work the statutory holiday anyway.
READ MORE: B.C.’s Family Day to be moved to 3rd week in February starting in 2019
Not everyone was on board with the change when it was first announced.
Silver Star Mountain Resort didn’t want to see B.C.’s Family Day line up with the holiday in other provinces.
“If we are going to combine the two busiest days of the year into one, it is just going to be impossible for people to be able to enjoy their weekend away,” spokesman Oscar Gordon said in February.
The change takes effect in February 2019.
- With files from Amy Judd and Megan Turcato