Monday in August was first proposed in Saskatchewan on 17 March 1975, by Gordon Snyder, Saskatchewan's Minister of Labour. The holiday was already celebrated by businesses across Saskatchewan, but Snyder wanted it to be a recognized statutory holiday known as "Saskatchewan Day". His proposal was approved in June of that year and the first Saskatchewan Day was celebrated that August. The first Monday of August in Saskatchewan is therefore a statutory holiday as designated in the Labour Standards Act. Non-observing jurisdictions The first Monday in August is not generally observed as a holiday in Quebec, parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, or Yukon, but replacement summer holidays may be observed as follows: Quebec observes Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on 24 June. In Yukon, Discovery Day is observed on the third Monday of August instead; it commemorates the 1896 discovery of gold in the territory and the start of the Klondike Gold Rush. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Shops Closing Act provides for a civic holiday on the date of the Royal St. John's Regatta (usually the first Wednesday of August) in St. John's, the date of the Harbour Grace Regatta (usually the fourth Saturday in July) in Harbour Grace, and a date fixed by the applicable municipal council in all other municipalities. Several of these communities use the first Monday in August as a civic holiday, while others have not selected any date. Due to the cancellation of the Royal St. John's Regatta in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic , the city made a one-time exception, with provincial approval, setting the first Monday of August that year as the civic holiday instead, in alignment with the other observing jurisdictions. See also Public holidays in Canada References Public holidays in Canada Provincial and territorial holidays in Canada August observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)