Colin and Justin: Docks, drinks and the great escape

In Canada, the May long weekend just feels like the start of summer

Published May 15, 2026  •  3 minute read

A breezy space, doors thrown open to the deck (just ahead of black fly season) styled by C+J for a Breakfast Television segment.

In Canada, summer doesn’t begin with a date on the calendar. It begins when cottage country bursts into life across the long Victoria Day weekend.

Article content

Suddenly, highways become rivers of roof-racked SUVs, beer coolers and gardeners hauling flats of petunias toward lakes and family cabins. Docks are wrestled back into chilly water, barbecues roar, and the scent of pine needles, sunscreen and charcoal hits like a national perfume.

Article content

Recommended Videos

Article content

Glorious, chaotic and utterly Canadian, the hallowed weekend remains the country’s true seasonal reset.

Known variously as Victoria Day weekend, May Long, or simply “May Two-Four,” the annual holiday marks the moment cottage country emerges from its winter hibernation.

Urban streets empty as highways heading north clog with kayak crowned trucks. In Ontario, convoys snake toward Muskoka, Haliburton, Prince Edward County and the Kawarthas.

In Nova Scotia, families head for oceanfront ‘bungalows’ and weathered retreats. Quebecers decamp to their lakeside chalets. The instinct is universal: escape the city and reopen that shuttered retreat.

Labours of love

And “reopen” is the operative word. Unlike summer homes in warmer climates, Canadian cottages endure months of snow and sub-zero temperatures, which means that first long weekend of the warm season is typically spent not with cocktails on the dock, but with practical labour.

Article content

Article content

Water systems are restarted. Outdoor furniture emerges from the shed. Fallen branches are dragged into piles. Windows are flung open to air out months of mustiness, and someone inevitably discovers that Mickey Mouse and his cohorts have been partying hard in the pantry.

Still, there’s romance in the ritual. Because that first spring coffee on the deck tastes somehow better, n’est ce pas? Lake water sparkles with possibility, even if it’s still too cold for swimming.

Neighbours reappear after months away and reunite over fences and fire pits. Children tear around barefoot despite temperatures hovering stubbornly near ten degrees. It’s simply part of the fun.

And then there’s the food. The May long weekend, of course, is gloriously unfussy. Nobody expects restaurant refinement. Instead, menus revolve around burgers, hot dogs, pasta salads and ripple chips poured into giant bowls.

Breakfast means bacon sizzling in a cast-iron pan whilst someone battles with a reliably stubborn propane tank. By evening, marshmallows are blackening over bonfires, whilst guitars emerge and stories grow taller with every drink. Bliss, huh? And then some.

Article content

Retreat and relax

Which brings us to the “two-four.” The nickname “May Two-Four”, some would allege, references both the calendar and the traditional Canadian case of two dozen beers. Whether myth or truth, the association stuck decades ago, and it remains intact.

Beer stores become madhouses before the holiday, with dockside fridges loaded in anticipation of sunny afternoons and long, laughter-filled nights.

For all the tradition, however, modern cottage culture has systematically evolved. Many of today’s retreats feature high-speed Wi-Fi, outdoor saunas, designer kitchens and floating paddleboard docks worthy of boutique resorts.

Instagram has undeniably glamorized lakeside living, transforming, as it has, rustic cabins into aspirational lifestyle content. Yet despite the upgrades, the emotional pull remains reassuringly unchanged.

At its core, the May 24 weekend is about reconnection. It reintroduces Canadians to nature after endless winter months spent indoors beneath grey skies.

Article content

It reconnects families around campfires and card tables. It reconnects exhausted city dwellers with slower rhythms – loon calls at dusk, coffee beside misty water, or the hypnotic crackle of burning cedar.

There’s also something uniquely democratic about cottage culture in Canada. Not every property is a sprawling architectural edifice.

Some are tiny bunkies with lino floors and ancient screen doors that slam shut like cannon fire. Others are hand-built family compounds passed through generations. What matters isn’t perfection, rather presence.

Naturally, the May 24 weekend carries a few predictable hazards. Blackflies descend with military precision. Rainstorms routinely appear just as burgers hit the grill. Traffic returning to the city can stretch into a soul-destroying six-hour crawl.

Yet, year after year, millions embrace the madness. And we love every minute of the adventure, because (between that first campfire, the scent of pine needles warming in the sunshine, and leaf blowers clearing the way) the May 24 weekend delivers something increasingly rare: permission to slow down.

And, for so many Canadians, that feeling – however muddy, mosquito-bitten or hangover fuelled – signals the true beginning of summer. And we’re here for it…

Watch ‘Small Town Escapes with Colin and Justin’ on HGTV on Wednesday nights. Discover the ‘Colin+Justin Home Collection’ in Homesense and Winners. Follow them at instagram/colinandjustin
and facebook/colinandjustin.

Article content