Victoria Day: Here’s what’s open and closed in Ottawa over the May long weekend

Some outdoor activities will be fair game in Ottawa over the upcoming Victoria Day long weekend as Ontario relaxes some restrictions related to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

But most retail and other indoor businesses will remain closed.

Here’s a sampling of what’s expected to be open and closed over Victoria Day in Ottawa.

The Loblaws grocers on Isabella and Rideau streets will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., the Whole Foods at Lansdowne Park will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Metro McKean grocer in the Glebe will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the Farm Boy at the Rideau Centre will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

All regular LCBO stores are closed on Victoria Day.

But three Beer Store outlets in Ottawa will open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. They are:

• 1860 Bank St.
• 1984 Baseline Rd.
• 548 Montreal Rd.

The Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa will be open with stores allowed to offer curbside pickup. Meanwhile, the St. Laurent Shopping Centre, Place D’Orleans, Bayshore Shopping Centre and Tanger Outlets will all be closed to the public on Victoria Day.

Some drug stores, like Shoppers and Rexall, are open, but it depends on the location. Contact a specific store to double-check its holiday hours.

Ontario will allow a smattering of outdoor activities to resume starting Saturday at 12:01 a.m. These include golf courses, driving ranges, soccer and other sports fields, tennis and basketball courts and skate parks.

Gatherings of up to five people outdoors are also permitted.

Outdoor recreation classes and sports remain prohibited under the stay-at-home order.

Splash pads, which were set to remain closed across the province under Ontario’s phased reopening plan, will be open in Ottawa for the weekend after provincial officials reversed course and let cities turn on the taps.

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Check the City of Ottawa’s website for the latest updates on recreation services.

You can also find a full list of the National Capital Commission’s beaches and parkways open for walking and cycling on its website.

The Crown corporation’s pilot program to open up its parkways in Ottawa to pedestrians and cyclists on weekends will be in place on Friday through Monday. The Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway will have sections open for active transportation from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. all weekend, while a portion of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway is closed off to motor vehicles from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The Rideau Canal will not open to boaters this weekend as it typically does in non-pandemic years.

Travel into Gatineau, Que., remains restricted to essential reasons only, even as the Outaouais region began to reopen from its own COVID-19 lockdown this past week.

OC Transpo bus and light-rail service will operate according to a Sunday schedule on Monday.

Note that the north-south Trillium Line remains closed for construction work related to Stage 2 LRT.

Para Transpo will operate according to holiday service on Victoria Day, with regular reservations automatically cancelled for the day.

All overtime parking regulations and restrictions on residential streets will not apply on Victoria Day.

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There will be no curbside garbage, green bin and recycling pickup on Victoria Day, though garbage pickups in multi-residential complexes will be unaffected.

All curbside pickups will be delayed by one day, as will recycling, green bin and bulky item pickups in multi-residential buildings.

The Trail Road Waste Facility will be open on Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Tom Brown respite centre at 141 Bayview Rd. will be open on Victoria Day from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bernard Grandmaître respite centre at 309 McArthur Rd. and the St. Paul’s Eastern United Church respite centre at 473 Cumberland St. will be closed on Monday.

For anyone in need of a coronavirus test, note the following assessment centres will be closed on Monday:

• COVID-19 Care and Testing Centre – Heron
• Centretown Community Health Centre
• Sandy Hill Community Health Centre
• Somerset West Community Health Centre

Other testing sites in the city will maintain regular hours over the long weekend.

Meanwhile, the supervised injection site and associated program office at 179 Clarence St. will be closed, while the site’s mobile van will operate on a regular schedule from 5 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. on Monday.

Also closed on Friday and Monday:

• The Sexual Health Clinic and satellite clinics
• Dental clinics
• OPH’s baby help and general support lines, though the COVID-19 line will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday

Residents can still call 311 for urgent matters that require the city’s immediate attention.

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