Here's what's open and closed in Ottawa on Victoria Day 2025
We found all the stores open for last-minute supply runs. 🍔
We rounded up all the stores, services, events and attractions that are open on Victoria Day in Ottawa.
Victoria Day 2025 is on the horizon, and if you're in Ottawa, you're probably wondering what's open and closed on Monday, May 19.
From grocery stores and liquor shops to malls and city services, a lot of places shut down in Ottawa for the May long weekend — but not everything.
Whether you forgot the coal for your BBQ, ran out of beer or just want to know if your local Loblaws, Costco or Walmart will be open on May Two-Four weekend, we've got you covered.
Victoria Day is a federal holiday in Canada and a provincial stat holiday in Ontario, which means many businesses — including grocery and liquor stores, banks, post offices and city services — will take the day off.
But don't worry! Some spots in Ottawa are still open on Victoria Day, including a few major grocery stores and shopping centres — you just need to know where to go.
Plus, if you're looking for something fun to do with your extra day off, we've rounded up a list of events and attractions open on the holiday around the city to help you make the most of the unofficial start to summer.
Here's what's open and closed in Ottawa on Victoria Day 2025, so you can plan ahead and avoid showing up empty-handed to the potluck.
Grocery stores
Aisle 24: All locations of this cashierless grocery chain are open 24/7, all year round. You'll just need to download the app and create a profile in order to unlock the door.
Costco: All Costco warehouses in Ottawa will be closed, but the Gatineau location will be open.
Farm Boy: All Ottawa locations will be closed except for the one in the Rideau Centre, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Loblaws & affiliates: All Your Independent Grocer, No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore locations in Ottawa will be closed. Most Loblaws locations will also be closed, except for the following:
- Loblaws Rideau (363 Rideau St.) — open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Loblaws Isabella (64 Isabella St.) — open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Metro & affiliates: Most Metro and Food Basics locations in Ottawa will be closed, with the following exceptions:
- Metro Rideau (255 Rideau St.) — open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Metro Glebe (754 Bank St.) — open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Produce Depot: Both locations (2446 Bank St. and 1855 Carling Ave.) will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Walmart: All locations in Ottawa proper will be closed. However, the four Walmart stores in Gatineau will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and if you're located in the southwestern outskirts of the city, the Smiths Falls location will also be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Whole Foods: Ottawa's Whole Foods store at Lansdowne will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sobeys did not respond to Narcity's request for information on the holiday hours at Sobeys, FreshCo and Foodland, and their websites do not have holiday hours posted as of the time of publishing (with the exception of FreshCo, which are all closed). You may want to call your local store to confirm their hours before heading out.
Liquor stores
LCBO: All stores will be closed.
The Beer Store: Most locations will be closed, except for the following that will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
- 1860 Bank St.
- 1984 Baseline Rd.
- 548 Montreal Rd.
- 499 Terry Fox Dr. (Kanata)
- 2276 Tenth Line Rd. (Orleans)
Wine Rack: The following locations in Ottawa will be open:
- 363 Rideau St. (inside Loblaws) — open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- 1320 Wellington St. W. — open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
SAQ: On the Gatineau side, all SAQ stores will be open for their usual business hours.
Shopping malls
Rideau Centre: Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tanger Outlets: Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On the Quebec side, Les Promenades Gatineau and Galeries de Hull will also be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Most other major malls in Ottawa — including Bayshore, St. Laurent, Carlingwood and Place D'Orleans — will be closed for the holiday.
Services
City of Ottawa services:
- 3-1-1 will be open for urgent matters only.
- Curbside and multi-residential trash collection are cancelled on Victoria Day. Monday's pickup will be pushed to Tuesday, and collection will be delayed by one day for the rest of next week.
- All Ottawa Public Library branches will be closed.
- Most other city services and offices — including municipal child care centres, Employment and Social Services offices, Ottawa Public Health clinics and more — will be closed.
OC Transpo: Ottawa's city buses and trains will be operating on a Sunday schedule Victoria Day. O-Train Line 1 will run from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., while lines 2 and 4 will run from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. You can use the OC Transpo's Travel Planner to plan your trip.
Canada Post: Canada Post is closed on national, provincial and territorial holidays. That means there is no collection or delivery of mail happening on Victoria Day. However, post offices operated by private businesses may be open if their host businesses are.
Banks: All banks will be closed.
Schools: All four school boards in Ottawa recognize Victoria Day as a holiday. School will be closed for both elementary and secondary students.
Service Canada: Closed on Victoria Day.
ServiceOntario: All locations will be closed. However, some ServiceOntario services have moved online, so you can still renew your driver's license, licence plate, health card and more.
Things to do
If you have the day off and are looking for things to do in Ottawa on Victoria Day, the following events and attractions are open.
Events:
- Victoria Day marks the last official day of the Canadian Tulip Festival. There will be a bunch of free events to wrap up the festival on Monday, including the Tulip Market, a screening of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? at 4 p.m., the Big Bug Boardwalk on Dow's Lake and more.
- The Tulip Festival is also putting on a "first-of-its-kind" Fireworks & Drone Show at 9:20 p.m. on Sunday at Dow's Lake.
- Barrhaven Ribfest and Poutine is happening all weekend at Clarke Field. It's open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Victoria Day Monday.
Museums & attractions:
- Cinemas: Most movie theatres in Ottawa — including Cineplex, Landmark Cinemas, Ciné-Starz, the Mayfair Theatre and the Bytowne Cinema — are open.
- Canada Agriculture and Food Museum: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Canada Aviation and Space Museum: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Canada Science and Technology Museum: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Canadian Museum of History: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Canadian War Museum: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- National Gallery of Canada: Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Have a tip about a store or event that's open on holidays in Ottawa? We want to hear about it! Send an email to avery.friedlander@narcity.com.