Doug Ford under fire for saying Ontario malls should open on stat holiday

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is taking heat after suggesting the province will consider scrapping rules that force businesses to shutter on the Family Day statutory holiday.

Ford announced the possible changes during a Tuesday press conference, where the premier claimed that Ontario malls would have been "packed" if the rule was repealed.

Among the businesses that could be exempted from Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act, Ford specifically called out three Greater Toronto Area malls, saying that, if the current restrictions were not in place, "Yorkdale would've been packed, Sherway would have been packed, Square One would've been packed."

The current Retail Business Holidays Act limits businesses from operating on nine Ontario statutory holidays, including the just-passed Family Day on Feb. 16.

The Retail Business Holidays Act was intended to limit business owners from forcing employees to work on holidays, though Ford claims that changes to the act would actually benefit workers — though many online commenters seem to feel that the move would favour business owners.

Ford says that changes to the Act could open up more workers to time-and-a-half holiday pay, and suggests that "a whole bunch" of workers would jump at the chance to earn more.

"If someone is making $20 an hour now, you get to go in and make $50 an hour, but that's up to the companies to decide," said Ford.

Ford noted that the Eaton Centre was open and quite busy on Family Day due to a City of Toronto bylaw exemption, and that suburban residents were frustrated that they had to leave the quiet comfort of their sheltered communities and head downtown for their shopping needs.

"I know the Eaton Centre was open, but people in the suburbs were saying, 'Why do I have go downtown?,'" said Ford.

While the premier said that he was "just throwing that [idea] out there," many online commenters have reacted to Ford's unofficial announcement, with a handful of people pointing out the irony of a premier who takes months of the year off work trying to cut into people's breaks from work on statutory holidays.

Local man who took 19-week summer break and 14-week Christmas break looking into why families allowed to spend Family Day together. https://t.co/qWgSnFLWMv

— Barney Panofsky's Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) February 18, 2026

Another commenter reminded others that Ford has a history of limiting worker time off, saying that "one of the first things he did as premier was to revoke the two PAID sick days hourly employees finally had been granted by the previous Liberal government."

Others just mocked the concept of exhausted workers pleading to be forced to work through holidays.

"Allow"

Like, workers are BEGGING the man to let them work on a holiday:

"Please, Mr. Ford!" they say, prostrated before him.

"Don't deprive us from the satisfaction and fulfillment of working on a holiday!" they cry out in agony!

— 🇨🇦 Henri A 🇨🇦 (@HenriAGS) February 18, 2026

However, Ford clarified that workers would "not be forced" to work on stat holidays, and stated that "we would cover them to make sure there's no ramifications."

The premier says that "nothing is guaranteed" about this seemingly off-hand remark about stat holidays, and told media that he would discuss the idea with the retail council to plot out any potential next steps.