Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Monday, Sept. 19 will be a federal holiday so Canadians can mourn Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her state funeral in London.

Speaking at a caucus retreat in New Brunswick today, the Prime Minister says “declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important” adding there are still some details to be worked out.

“We will be working with the provinces and the territories to try and see that we’re aligned on this,” Trudeau said. “For our part, we will be letting federal employees know that Monday will be a day of mourning.”

Despite the Prime Minster’s comments, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan took to twitter to say that federally regulated workers will not get the day off automatically.

“September 19, 2022 will be a holiday for federal government employees,” he said. “It will be a day of mourning for the passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.”

“Federally regulated employers are welcomed to follow suit, but they are not required to do so.”

O’Regan’s comments mean the roughly 319,000 public servants will get a surprise long weekend, while the approximately 910,000 federally regulated private sector workers in Canada will not get one, unless their employer decides to recognize the holiday.

The Federal Government also left it up to provincial and territorial governments to decide if they want to declare Sept. 19 as a holiday for provincially regulated workers.

In a statement, B.C. Premier, John Horgan, says his government will follow the federal government’s lead and honour the national day of mourning to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.

Public schools, post-secondary institutions, and most B.C. Crown corporations will be closed on Sept. 19 to reflect on the “incredible life of Canada’s Queen and the longest-serving monarch in British history.”

“We have advised provincial public-sector employers to honour this day in recognition of the obligations around federal holidays in the vast majority of provincial collective agreements,” Horgan said. “We encourage private-sector employers to find a way to recognize or reflect on the day in a way that is appropriate for their employees.”

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador will also follow suit and close government offices and schools.

Manitoba will leave schools open, but all non-essential government services and offices will be closed, while Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec are all not recognizing the holiday.

With Canada still in the midst of its official mourning period for the country’s longest-reigning monarch, Trudeau also says he and the opposition leaders’ offices are working on a final list for the delegation that will attend the Queen’s funeral in person.

Other commemorative ceremonies will include a parade with the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, a CF-18 jet fly-by, a 96-gun salute, and an invite-only commemorative service at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa that will be televised nationally.

Since the Queen’s death at the age of 96, other Commonwealth countries have already announced holidays this month. The United Kingdom will have a bank holiday on Monday for the funeral, marking the final day of the 10 days of mourning while Australia and New Zealand will have public holidays on Sept. 22 and 26 respectively.

Canada’s Parliament was set to resume Sept. 19, but had already been delayed by a day for the Queen’s funeral.

– With files from The Canadian Press