Public holiday

BC Day long weekend

Name: BC Day long weekend
Start: 2027-07-31
End: 2027-08-02
Location: Island-wide

The August long weekend, first Monday of the month, and the peak of the island's summer. The Comox Valley's Filberg Festival traditionally falls on it; ferries, campgrounds and Tofino are at capacity.

Annual, dates set by the organiser

When: Sat 31 Jul – Mon 2 Aug 2027; Exact times set locally; all-day listing
Recurrence: First Monday of August each year
Where: Island-wide; Island-wide
Tickets: Free to attend
Organiser: Government of British Columbia (statutory holiday)
Last verified: 6 Sept 2026

Official source

If you have not reserved a vehicle sailing for this weekend by July, consider walking on and picking up a rental on the island side. Whale-watching operators run every departure they have; book two or three days ahead in Victoria and a week ahead in Telegraph Cove.

Around the same trip

Tours that pair well with this event

Whales Kayak & paddle Transfers

Victoria Half-Day Whale Watching Adventure with Free Photos

WhalesFrom CA$215

Departs Victoria

Victoria Half-Day Whale Watching Adventure with Free Photos

Hop aboard Salish Sea Eclipse – a high-speed, luxury, custom-built catamaran. This 95 passenger catamaran was engineered and built in Canada with the safety of our beloved marine wildlife and our…

Victoria Whale and Wildlife Cruise

Come and meet the locals—the flippered, furred and feathered kind—on this guided 3.5-hour or more whale watching cruise with Eagle Wing Tours at Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Hop aboard a comfortable…

4.9 (2,262)3h 30m

Check availability

Boats & sailingFrom CA$110

Departs Tofino & Ucluelet

Ucluelet Harbour Tour

Hello Nature Tours is locally owned and operated by Kevin Bradshaw and Phill Padgham. We are located in the quaint fishing village of Ucluelet in British Columbia, close to Barkley Sound, the Broken…

4.8 (75)3 hours

Check availability

Kayak & paddleFrom CA$105

Departs Victoria

Victoria Harbour Kayak Tour

Enjoy front-row views of Victoria Harbour during this 2.5 hour guided kayaking tour. As you paddle, take in bustling scenes of ferries, seaplanes and yachts sharing the historic waterways with seals…

4.9 (66)2h 30m

Check availability

More on the calendar

10Oct

Public holidayAnnual, dates set by the organiser

Thanksgiving long weekend

Canada's Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. On the island it coincides with the salmon runs, the last grizzly departures from Campbell River and the first autumn storms on the Pacific coast; ferries and accommodation fill for the three days.

Sat 10 – Mon 12 Oct 2026

Island-wide

Free to attend

Checked 6 Sept 2026

15Oct

Wildlife & natureAnnual, dates set by the organiser

Salmon run at Goldstream Provincial Park

Every autumn tens of thousands of chum salmon return to the Goldstream River, twenty minutes from downtown Victoria, to spawn and die in the shallows beside the trail. Bald eagles follow. It is one of the most accessible salmon runs on the coast and free to watch.

Thu 15 Oct – Thu 10 Dec 2026

Victoria

Free to attend

Checked 6 Sept 2026

Full calendar