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Ontario offers licence-free fishing across the province May 9–10 for Mother’s Day weekend

Justin Barber

May 6, 2026 — 1 min read

Ontario will allow Canadian residents to fish without buying a licence or Outdoors Card across the province on May 9 and 10, according to a May 6 news release from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

For anglers in Northeast Ontario, the two-day window means people can head out on local lakes and rivers that weekend without the usual licensing purchase, as long as they follow Ontario’s fishing rules.

The ministry said all conservation licence catch and size limits, sanctuaries and other fishing regulations remain in effect during the licence-free period.

People taking part must carry identification issued by the provincial or federal government that shows their name and date of birth, the ministry said.

The Mother’s Day weekend dates are the second of four licence-free fishing periods in Ontario in 2026, according to the ministry. The remaining licence-free dates are Father’s Day weekend, June 20–21, and Family Fishing Week, June 27 to July 5.

Outside of these free-fishing periods, the ministry said most people aged 18 to 64 must have an Outdoors Card and a fishing licence.

Veterans and active Canadian Armed Forces members who live in Ontario can fish for free in the province whenever and wherever fishing is allowed, the ministry said.

In the same release, the province said Ontario has 1.3 million licensed anglers who spend $2.4 billion per year on recreational fishing.

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