Will Canada have a national holiday in the Queen's honour? Officials still won't say

OTTAWA -

With Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral set to take place Monday, the Canadian federal government has yet to confirm whether it will follow the lead of other Commonwealth countries and announce a national holiday in the Queen’s honour.

The United Kingdom will have a bank holiday on the day of the Queen’s funeral — marking the final of the 10 days of mourning — while Australia and New Zealand have both announced public holidays on Sept. 22 and 26 respectively to mourn Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Privy Council Office spokesperson Stéphane Shank wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca “further details regarding commemoration events for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be made available in the coming days,” but wouldn’t say whether that would include a holiday.

With Canada still in the midst of its official mourning period — which is set to end with the Queen’s funeral on Sept. 19 — many commemorative events have already been planned: there will be an invite-only commemorative service at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, with government officials, dignitaries and other guests, as well as a parade in Ottawa with the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, a 96-gun salute, and a CF-18 fighter jet fly-by.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Saturday he’s confident the government will find the appropriate way to mark the Queen’s life, and any details will be announced soon.

“We as a government recognize the importance of Parliament, the House of Commons, and the Senate having an opportunity to reflect on her majesty's passing, on her remarkable service to Canada, to offer our sympathies to King Charles III and to the Royal Family, and to Canadians,” he said outside Rideau Hall on Saturday.

“We're currently reflecting on the most appropriate way to do that,” he added. “My colleague, the government House leader, will of course be in discussions with opposition House leaders, and we're very confident that in short order will have the appropriate moment and the appropriate mechanism by which parliamentarians can gather and can reflect on and express their sympathies with respect to this historic moment for our country.”

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 has been delayed by a day for the Queen’s funeral, Holland also wrote.

Books of condolences have been set out by provincial and municipal governments across the country, and so far nearly 35,000 people have signed the federal government’s online book of condolences.

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Tom Yun and Rachel Aiello