Here's what's open and closed in Toronto for Remembrance Day 2025
Remembrance Day 2025 falls on Tuesday, November 11, and Toronto residents may be wondering how the holiday works and what's actually open that day.
It's a confusing situation. You're probably working a normal workday, but can you grab groceries on your lunch break? Are banks open on Remembrance Day? What about Costco hours?
Remembrance Day in Canada honours Canadian Armed Forces members who served in the line of duty. More than 118,000 Canadians have died in service since the First World War ended at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 — which is why the country pauses for a moment of silence at that exact time each year.
While Remembrance Day isn't a statutory holiday in Ontario, it is observed as a federal holiday across Canada, and it's technically designated as a municipal holiday in Toronto. That creates a strange middle ground where most people are at work, but some services shut down or run on altered schedules.
Plus, Remembrance Day ceremonies throughout the city add their own complications with road closures and transit disruptions modified schedules for city services and road closures.
Whether you're attending a ceremony or trying to run errands, here's what you need to know about what's open and closed in Toronto for Remembrance Day 2025 — from grocery and retail stores to liquor, transit and public services.
Grocery, retail & restaurants
Because it's not a statutory holiday, private businesses are allowed to remain open for their regular hours on Tuesday.
That means most grocery stores —including Costco, Walmart, No Frills, Loblaws, Metro and more — will be open. So will most pharmacies, shopping malls, restaurants and retail stores.
Liquor stores: All LCBO and The Beer Store locations in Toronto will be closed for the morning, opening at 12 p.m. on Tuesday.
Roads & transit
Road closures:
The following streets downtown will be closed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday for the City of Toronto's annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at Old City Hall:
- Bay Street, between Dundas Street West and Richmond Street West
- Queen Street West, between University Avenue and Bay Street
In addition, Wellesley Street West will be closed between the east and west sides of Queens Park Crescent from 10:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. for the 48 Highlanders of Canada's Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at Queen's Park.
TTC: Toronto's city buses, trains and streetcars are operating on a usual Tuesday schedule on Remembrance Day, but will stop for two minutes of silence at 11 a.m.
Services
City of Toronto services:
- 3-1-1 phone lines will be open.
- Municipal child care, city planning, revenue services and tax and utility phone lines will be closed.
- Court services, Employment and Social Services offices, Civic Centres, Toronto Animal Services shelters, cultural centres and City-run galleries will be closed.
- Emergency shelters and street outreach are available. For more information, you can visit the City of Toronto website.
- Toronto Public Library branches will be open.
- Curbside residential and commercial trash collection will not be impacted and will run as usual all week. Waste drop-off depots and hazardous waste sites are open.
Schools: All schools and universities in Toronto will be open for a regular school day on Tuesday.
Canada Post: There will be no collection or delivery of mail happening on Tuesday, and corporate (standalone) post offices will be closed. However, post offices operated by private businesses may be open if their host businesses are.
Banks: All banks will be closed on Tuesday.
Service Canada: All Service Canada and Passport Services offices will be closed.
ServiceOntario: All locations will be closed. However, some ServiceOntario services have moved online, so you can still renew your driver's licence, health card and more.
Remembrance Day events
Starting around 10:45 a.m., Remembrance Day ceremonies will be held at various locations across Toronto, including:
- Old City Hall Cenotaph, 60 Queen St. W.
- East York Civic Centre Memorial Gardens, 850 Coxwell Ave.
- Etobicoke Civic Centre Cenotaph, 399 The West Mall
- Fort York National Historic Site – Garrison Common, 100 Garrison Rd.
- North York Cenotaph in York Cemetery, 160 Beecroft Rd.
- Scarborough War Memorial, 2190 Kingston Rd.
- York Civic Centre Cenotaph, 2700 Eglinton Ave. W.
The Old City Hall ceremony will also be streamed live on the City of Toronto's YouTube channel.
The Royal Canadian Legion is also hosting lots of smaller Remembrance Day ceremonies across the city. You can find your nearest one on the Legion's website.
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Have a tip about a store or event that's open on holidays in Toronto? We want to hear about it! Send an email to avery.friedlander@narcity.com.
