Queen's Birthday Celebrated On Victoria Day, May 18

Victoria Day began in the 19th century when around 5,000 residents of Toronto, Canada, gathered in front of Government House to “give cheers to the queen” in honor of her birthday. Over the years, the official date and name of the holiday changed due to royal proclamations, but it is now a statutory holiday, when most people are entitled to a day off from work, celebrated on the last Monday before or on May 24. This date does not change with a change of monarch; it remains set on the birthday of Queen Victoria, the Canadian monarch at the time of the Canadian Confederation.