Remembrance Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, and Toronto runs in two directions at once that day: banks and Canada Post close, while most stores, libraries, schools and transit run on a normal Wednesday pattern. The reason is the day’s legal shape. Remembrance Day is a federal holiday in Canada, but it is not one of Ontario’s nine public holidays, so the city marks the day solemnly without shutting down.
The quick answer: what’s open and closed in Toronto on Remembrance Day 2026
- Open: the TTC on a regular Wednesday schedule, GO Transit on a regular weekday schedule, Toronto Public Library branches on regular Wednesday hours, CF Toronto Eaton Centre (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), grocery stores and most retail on regular hours, schools, and the Toronto Zoo.
- Closed: bank branches, Canada Post (no collection or delivery), and federal government offices including Service Canada.
- Different: LCBO and Beer Store locations are expected to open at 12 p.m., after the morning ceremonies. All TTC vehicles are expected to pause for two minutes at 11 a.m. Veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members ride free on the TTC, GO Transit and UP Express.
- At 11 a.m.: two minutes of silence across the city, with the City of Toronto’s main ceremony at the Old City Hall cenotaph.
Why Remembrance Day is not a regular holiday in Ontario
The confusion is built into the law. The Government of Ontario’s guide to the Employment Standards Act lists nine public holidays in Ontario: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Remembrance Day is not on that list, so most Ontario employers are not required to close or pay holiday pay for November 11. At the federal level the day is a full holiday: the Bank of Canada’s calendar marks Wednesday, November 11, 2026 as a national holiday, which is why federally regulated services such as banks and Canada Post stop for the day. Ontario’s Retail Business Holidays Act tells the same story from the retail side. The province’s list of mandatory retail closures does not include Remembrance Day, and the Act does not apply to the City of Toronto in any case, so Toronto stores are free to open on their regular Wednesday hours.
What’s open in Toronto on Remembrance Day 2026
Shopping and groceries. Most Toronto retail runs a normal Wednesday. Cadillac Fairview lists CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s Wednesday hours as 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. with no Remembrance Day reduction posted, and CF Fairview Mall’s official holiday hours table lists Remembrance Day, November 11, at 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants are open on regular hours; because November 11 is not a mandatory retail closure day in Ontario, there is no holiday schedule for them to follow. Individual stores can always set their own hours, so a smaller independent shop is worth a quick check before you go.
Toronto Public Library. Branches are open on their regular Wednesday hours. The library’s own Holidays and Closures listings for 2026 close branches for Thanksgiving Day on October 12 and then not again until Christmas Eve, with no Remembrance Day closure, and the City’s past Remembrance Day service notices have likewise kept every branch open.
Schools. Toronto schools are open. November 11 is a regular instructional day on the Toronto District School Board’s 2026 to 2027 calendar, not a holiday or a professional activity day, and schools across the city hold their own remembrance assemblies during the morning.
The Toronto Zoo and Fort York. Both hold Remembrance Day ceremonies listed by the City. The Zoo’s Waterside Theatre ceremony opens at 9:45 a.m. and closes at 10:45 a.m. or once capacity is reached, and Fort York National Historic Site hosts its service at the Strachan Avenue Military Burial Ground, with arrivals by 10:40 a.m.
What’s closed in Toronto on Remembrance Day 2026
Banks. Bank branches are closed for the federal holiday. Online and mobile banking keep running, but in-person branch service and branch hours resume Thursday, November 12.
Canada Post. Closed, with no collection or delivery. Canada Post’s own service information states it is closed on national holidays with no collection or delivery of mail on those days, and its holiday schedule lists Remembrance Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Post office counters inside private businesses follow the host store’s hours.
Federal government offices. Service Canada centres, passport offices and other federal services in Toronto are closed for the national holiday.
City of Toronto counters (expected). The City has not yet posted its 2026 Remembrance Day service notice. Based on the City’s published Remembrance Day pattern in its own past service notices, expect City payment counters, including property tax, utility and parking ticket counters, to be closed for the day, with 311 and emergency services operating as usual. This page will be rechecked and updated the day before the holiday, and any item the City announces differently will be corrected.
TTC and GO Transit service on Remembrance Day
Wednesday, November 11 is a working Wednesday for Toronto transit, not a holiday schedule day. GO Transit runs its regular weekday schedule, and Metrolinx’s own Remembrance Day policy is generous: veterans and current Canadian Armed Forces members ride free on GO Transit and UP Express, and on Remembrance Day one companion rides free with them, as do immediate family members of deceased veterans carrying identification of their relation. Metrolinx asks riders using the offer to wear or carry something identifiable, such as a medal, beret, blazer, uniform, Veteran’s Service Card or Canadian Military Service ID.
On the TTC, service is expected to run on a regular Wednesday schedule, following the TTC’s published Remembrance Day pattern in its own news releases. At 11 a.m., every TTC vehicle is expected to stop for two minutes of silence: subway trains held at station platforms, buses and streetcars stopped at a regular stop, and Wheel-Trans vehicles stopped at a safe location. The announcement riders hear is the one the TTC has used in its releases:
“The TTC will now observe a two minute pause in service to reflect on the sacrifices for peace made by Canadians.”
Current and former members of Canada’s military also ride the TTC free on Remembrance Day under the same published TTC pattern, and the TTC Honour Guard takes part in the Old City Hall ceremony. The TTC has not yet posted its 2026 release or any ceremony related route diversions, so this section will be updated the day before the holiday with the confirmed details.
LCBO and The Beer Store hours on Remembrance Day
Both retailers hold their doors until the ceremonies are done. The LCBO’s published Remembrance Day operating hours state that most LCBO retail stores open at 12 p.m. and close at their regular time, so a 12 p.m. opening is expected again on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with LCBO head office closed for the day. The Beer Store’s own Remembrance Day release follows the same pattern: all Beer Store retail locations open at 12 p.m. local time, with a short list of stores opening at 12:30 p.m., so Toronto Beer Store locations are expected to open at 12 p.m. Neither organization had posted its 2026 notice when this guide was published, and both items will be confirmed in the day-before update.
Remembrance Day ceremonies in Toronto: what’s on
The City of Toronto’s official ceremony list for Wednesday, November 11, 2026 gives Torontonians a service in every part of the city. The main ceremony is at the Old City Hall cenotaph, 60 Queen St. W., with arrivals by 10:45 a.m. The City will fly flags at half-mast at City Hall, Old City Hall, the civic centres and Metro Hall for the day. The full City list:
- Old City Hall, cenotaph, 60 Queen St. W., arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- East York Civic Centre, Memorial Gardens, 850 Coxwell Ave., arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- Etobicoke Civic Centre, cenotaph, 299 The West Mall, arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- York Cemetery, North York, cenotaph, 160 Beecroft Rd., arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- Scarborough War Memorial, 2190 Kingston Rd., arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- York Civic Centre, cenotaph, 2700 Eglinton Ave. W., arrive by 10:45 a.m.
- Fort York National Historic Site, Strachan Avenue Military Burial Ground, 100 Garrison Rd., arrive by 10:40 a.m.
- Toronto Zoo, Waterside Theatre, 2000 Meadowvale Rd., theatre opens at 9:45 a.m.
Wherever you are in Toronto at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the city stops for two minutes. Plan your errands around the morning ceremonies, expect the LCBO and Beer Store run to be a noon errand instead of a morning one, and know that the library, the mall and the grocery store will be there on a normal Wednesday footing when the day calls for them. Lest we forget.
Sources: City of Toronto (Remembrance Day ceremonies list, modified October 13, 2026, and Half-Mastings 2026), Government of Ontario (Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act: public holidays; Retail Business Holidays), Bank of Canada holiday calendar, Canada Post service information and holiday schedule, TTC Remembrance Day releases, Metrolinx and GO Transit veterans fare pages, Cadillac Fairview holiday hours, Toronto Public Library Holidays and Closures listings, LCBO Remembrance Day operating hours, and The Beer Store Remembrance Day hours release. Items marked expected are based on the named organization’s own published Remembrance Day pattern and will be rechecked on November 10, 2026.
