The origins of our August long weekend date back to the 1850's to 1860's when communities, such as Chatham, Owen Sound and Barrie, first gathered to celebrate "Emancipation Day". In 2008, the Emancipation Day Act of Ontario officially recognized the 1834 emancipation of enslaved peoples of African descent and designated August 1 as Emancipation Day. The City of Toronto has proclaimed August 2019 as "Emancipation Month".

Senator Wanda Thomas-Bernard introduced a bill, currently in second reading, to officially recognize August 1 as Emancipation Day in Canada. Please see the attached document for an Emancipation Day 2019 Statement.