The Victoria Day long weekend for Rob Watson meant friends, sunshine, barbecue, beer and a cottage. The 36-year-old laughingly remembers batting away black flies on morning runs in Port Stanley, Ont.
He’d jump off the dock afterward to cool off, then crack a cold one before unfolding in a Muskoka chair for a lazy afternoon by the lake. “(Victoria Day) is kind of when Canadians come out of hibernation,” said Watson, a competitive runner. “It’s like: summer is here.
It’s a very Canadian thing.” This year, Canada’s unofficial start to summer has been pushed back by COVID-19. The long weekend known fondly as May Two-Four in parts of the country has been all but cancelled.