Ontarians overwhelmingly support making Remembrance Day a statutory holiday, according to a Ford government poll. Now the question is whether the Progressive Conservatives will give the people what they want.
A question about whether November 11 should become a statutory holiday was buried in a government survey of Ontarians about gig work. QP Briefing received the poll results through a freedom-of-information request.
Almost nine-tenths of the 2,003 respondents supported the idea when asked, "To what extent would you support or oppose making Remembrance Day (November 11th) a statutory holiday in Ontario?" Sixty-two per cent said they strongly support the idea, and another 24 per cent said they somewhat support it. Just 13 per cent somewhat or strongly opposed the idea.
Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee survey.
Workers are entitled to a paid day off of work on stat holidays. Essential workers, like doctors, get extra pay for working stats. Ontario is one of a minority of provinces not to designate Remembrance Day as a stat, along with Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. It's also a federal statutory holiday, meaning workers in federally regulated sectors — including banking and telecommunications — get the day off.
The premier's office did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Progressive Conservatives are planning to make the change. As incumbent governments are wont to do, the Tories have been implementing feel-good policies as voters' minds turn to the upcoming provincial election in June.
A Liberal spokesperson said the party's plan for a four-day work week pilot will give employers more flexibility to give employees Remembrance Day off. The party hasn't addressed making Nov. 11 a stat.
The NDP didn't comment by press time.
Remembrance Day would fill in a stat holiday "gap" in the calendar. November is one of the only months, along with March, June and August, without a statutory holiday in Ontario — though most employers give employees the first Monday in August off work, and many employees take time off for students' March Break.
The Ontario legislature takes the entire week of Nov. 11 off.
The poll surveyed respondents in the general public who were all above 18, with a median age of 49.
Nearly half lived in the Greater Toronto Area, with another 26 per cent from southwestern Ontario.
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents were employed or looking for work. Thirty-eight per cent worked full-time. Retirees made up 26 per cent of respondents.
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