Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Monday, Sept. 19 will be a federal holiday and a day of mourning as Queen Elizabeth II is buried in the U.K.
“We will be working with the provinces and the territories to try and see that we’re aligned on this,” Trudeau said at a news conference in New Brunswick Tuesday. “There are still a few details to be worked out, but declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important.”
“So for our part, we will be letting federal employees know that Monday will be a day of mourning,” he added.
Trudeau said the federal government has been in discussions with the government of the United Kingdom and Opposition leaders’ offices to sort out who will make up the delegation of Canadian officials travelling to the Queen’s funeral.
Other Commonwealth countries have already announced holidays to commemorate the Queen’s passing: the United Kingdom will have a bank holiday Monday for the funeral, marking the final day of the 10 days of mourning, and Australia and New Zealand will have public holidays on Sept. 22 and 26 respectively.
NOT A HOLIDAY IN QUEBEC
Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters Tuesday the day of the Queen’s funeral will be one of commemoration, but not a holiday in the province. He added he’ll continue campaigning before Quebecers head to the polls Oct. 3.
Canada is still in the midst of its official mourning period for the country’s longest-reigning monarch, with several commemorative events planned in Ottawa following the funeral on Monday. There will be an invite-only commemorative service at Christ Church Cathedral, with government officials, dignitaries and other guests, as well as a parade with the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, a 96-gun salute, and a CF-18 fighter jet fly-by.
Government House Leader Mark Holland tweeted Saturday there would be a “special session” of the House of Commons on Thursday to give MPs the chance to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Canada’s Parliament was set to resume Sept. 19, but had already been delayed by a day for the Queen’s funeral.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Tom Yun and Rachel Aiello