The monarch's birthday has been observed in Canada since the reign of King
George III, when it, 4 June, was considered "the most important holiday of the year in early
Upper Canada." The annual
muster of the
militia was held on the King's birthday, in the most central or most convenient place in each district, and every able-bodied man between the ages of 18 and 60, aside from
Quakers,
Mennonites, and other pacifist sects, was to take part. The drill ended with three cheers for the King before the participants were free to mingle about; they were known to engage in
horseshoe pitching contests,
wrestling matches, and settling old scores by fights before, in the summer night, the settlers and their families visited the houses of their neighbours or patronised the taverns; for the latter, it was their most profitable day all year. For the officers, a dinner was held, during which toasts were made to the King, the
Duke of York (the Commander-in-Chief), the Army and Navy, and the ladies. celebrations in
Toronto It was in 1845 that the
Parliament of the Province of Canada passed a statute to authorise the recognition of
Queen Victoria's birthday, 24 May, as a public holiday. After Victoria died in 1901, 24 May became Victoria Day George VI's official birthday in Canada was thereafter marked on various days between 20 May and 14 June. The first official birthday of
Elizabeth II, daughter of George VI, was the last to be celebrated in June; the haphazard format was abandoned in 1952, when the
Governor General-in-Council moved
Empire Day and an amendment to the law moved Victoria Day both to the Monday before 25 May. The
Canadian monarch's official birthday in Canada was, by regular viceregal proclamations, made to fall on this same date every year between 1953 and 1957, when a
royal proclamation issued on 5 February established the Queen's official birthday as the last Monday before 25 May, making the link between Victoria Day and the sovereign's official birthday permanent, though not expressed explicitly. Though the holiday was called ''Sovereign's Birthday'', thus applying the official birthday to all future monarchs, regardless of gender, and, by replacing the Monday before 25 May with Victoria Day, making the connection with Victoria Day explicit. Nonetheless, the two holidays are entirely distinct in law (Victoria Day fixed by statute and the Sovereign's Birthday determined by proclamation depending on the Interpretation Act, which requires the Sovereign's Birthday to be observed either on the day itself or on a day proclaimed for its observance) except for being appointed to be observed on the same day; it is a general holiday in
Nunavut and
New Brunswick (there prescribed as a day of rest on which retail businesses must be closed). Though the media mention only Victoria Day and the public are therefore almost totally unaware of the existence of the official birthday, the sovereign's official birthday is marked by the firing of an
artillery salute in the national and provincial capitals and the flying of the
Royal Union Flag on buildings belonging to the federal
Crown, if there is a second flag pole available. attending official birthday celebrations in Ottawa during his
1939 royal tour of Canada The Canadian monarch has been in Canada for his or her official birthday twice: The first time was 20 May 1939, when King George VI was on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada and his official birthday was celebrated with a
Trooping the Colour ceremony on
Parliament Hill. The second time was when Queen Elizabeth II was in Canada from 17 to 25 May 2005, to mark the centennial of the entries of
Saskatchewan and
Alberta into
Confederation; no government-initiated events, aside from those dictated by normal protocol, were organised to acknowledge the official birthday.
Charles III, who was
Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the throne at the time, and his wife,
Camilla, in 2012 attended events in
Saint John, New Brunswick, and
Toronto, Ontario, marking the Queen's official birthday. In 2014, the couple attended a ceremony in
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. ==New Zealand==