Family Day will fall on the third week of February starting next year, the B.C. government announced Friday, a move that irked B.C.’s tourism and ski industries.
Since it was introduced in 2013 under the B.C. Liberals, the statutory holiday has been on the second Monday of February.
The change will bring it in line with the February statutory holiday in other provinces.
Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan all mark Family Day on the third Monday in February. P.E.I.’s Islander Day and Louis Riel Day in Manitoba are also celebrated on the third Monday in February.
“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 in a statement. “This gives families an opportunity to schedule and spend more time with loved ones from other provinces.”
The change isn’t sitting well with B.C.’s tourism and ski operators, which benefit from attracting visitors over back-to-back long weekends. Many Americans visit B.C. during the U.S. Presidents’ Day long weekend in the third week of February.
“It’s a disappointing decision,” said Tourism Victoria CEO Paul Nursey.
He said having two long weekends combined with Valentine’s Day has been a boon to Victoria’s hospitality industry.
“Spreading it over two weekends is much smarter.”
The Canada West Ski Areas Association had lobbied the previous B.C. Liberal government to mark the holiday on the second Monday of February. That would allow ski resorts to benefit from B.C. visitors during this weekend, followed by visitors from the U.S., Alberta and other Canadian provinces the next weekend.
The association’s president, Christopher Nicolson, said B.C.’s Family Day has become one of the busiest weekends of the year, bringing in $10 million to ski resorts across the province.
“Now that will be merged with a weekend that’s already busy,” he said. “For B.C. residents, they’ll see a very busy weekend. They’ll be competing for space with Washington guests or people coming over from Alberta.”
Peter Gibson, general manager for Mount Washington Alpine Resort in the Comox Valley, said the resort won’t see much of an impact because it doesn’t attract a large number of Americans.
“Having Family Day on an alternate day [to other provinces] was a big boon to the tourism industry on a day when it’s usually slow,” said Walt Judas, president of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C.
The third weekend of February is “a high-yield weekend that is virtually 100 per cent booked.” Judas said.
Now, B.C. families will be competing with Americans and other Canadians for hotel spaces, or face heavy traffic on a peak weekend, Judas said.
“If you do it all on one weekend, that’s not going to make for a great visitor experience.”
B.C. Liberal critics Michelle Stilwell and Doug Clovechok said in a joint statement that they’re disappointed the NDP government is taking aim at the tourism industry.
“The B.C. Family Day weekend has become one of the top performing business periods of the year for many B.C. ski destinations, generating between $7 million and $10 million in incremental visitor spending per winter. In a time of economic uncertainty for many industries, John Horgan is now saying he doesn’t have their back,” Stilwell and Clovechok said in the statement. “The absolute lack of consultation is a slap in the face to the sector and highlights the NDP’s priorities, which clearly aren’t British Columbian jobs.”
B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, who tabled a private member’s bill last February asking for the change, welcomed the announcement.
He said the current situation means that families spread across different provinces aren’t able to be together and B.C. residents — business owners, federal employees, and those who conduct business across Canada and North America — are forced to work on Family Day since it is a business day everywhere else.
“I am heartened to know that families across B.C. will no longer face these barriers beginning in 2019,” Weaver said.
