Day was never the undisputed top player in Canada, but he was among the top ten Canadian players for over 30 years, from the late-1960s into the late-1990s. His peak years were in the period 1978-1982, after which he was eclipsed by Grandmasters Igor V. Ivanov and Kevin Spraggett. Day survived a bout with cancer in 1975. He served as the non-playing captain of the Canadian team for the 2006 Turin Olympiad. He was granted an Honorary GM title by the Commonwealth Chess Association in 2006.