'''Victoria Day''' ({{lang-fr|links=no|Fête de la Reine|lit=Celebration of the Queen}}) is a federal [[Public holidays in Canada|Canadian public holiday]] celebratedobserved on the last Monday preceding May 25 to honour [[Queen Victoria]], who is known as the "Mother of [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]]". The holiday has been observedexisted in Canada since at least 1845, originally on Victoria's natural birthday, May 24. It falls on the Monday between the 18th and the 24th (inclusive) and, so, is always the [[penultimate]] Monday of May ({{DatesWD|-2|1|5|format=%B %d}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}} and {{DatesWD|-2|1|5|format=%B %d|{{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+1}}}} in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+1}}). Victoria Day is a federal statutory holiday, as well as a holiday in six of Canada's 10 provinces and all three of its territories. The holiday has always been a distinctly Canadian observance and continues to be celebrated across the country,<ref name=Macleans>{{Citation| url=http://www.macleans.ca/2012/05/18/victoria-day-only-in-canada/| last=Parker| first=Alan| title=Victoria Day: Only in Canada| date=May 18, 2012| magazine=Maclean's| publisher=Rogers Communications| accessdate=May 21, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103063620/http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/05/18/victoria-day-only-in-canada/| archive-date=November 3, 2013| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=G&M>{{Citation| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/victoria-day-responsible-rule-and-firecrackers/article2438674/| title=Victoria Day: responsible rule and firecrackers| date=May 20, 2012| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| accessdate=May 22, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526155457/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/victoria-day-responsible-rule-and-firecrackers/article2438674/| archive-date=May 26, 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref> being informally considered the start of the summer season in Canada.
The same date is also, since 1952, recognized as the currently reigning [[Monarchy of Canada|Canadian monarch]]'s [[King's Official Birthday#Canada|official birthday]] (though, previously, that event had been marked in Canada typically on each monarch's actual birthday).<ref>{{Citation |title=Government of Canada; Canadian Heritage |date=October 16, 2017 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/important-commemorative-days/victoria-day.html |access-date=May 18, 2020 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521234143/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/important-commemorative-days/victoria-day.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Quebec]], before 2003, the Monday preceding May 25 of each year was unofficially the {{lang|fr|Fête de Dollard}}, a commemoration of [[Adam Dollard des Ormeaux]], initiated in the 1920s to coincide with Victoria Day. In 2003, provincial legislation officially created [[National Patriots' Day]] on the same date.
