| Holiday Name: | Public holidays in Canada |
| Nickname: | French: Jours fériés au Canada |
| Observedby: | Canadians |
| Observances: | NATIONWIDE (in bold) and FEDERAL (in italics): |
| Mdy: | yes |
| Celebrations: | Various |
| Type: | National, provincial, federal |
Public holidays in Canada (French: Jours fériés au Canada), known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats (French: jours fériés), consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
There are five nationwide statutory holidays[1] and six additional holidays for federal employees.[2] Each of the 13 provinces and territories observes a number of holidays in addition to the nationwide days, but each varies in regard to which are legislated as either statutory, optional, or not at all.
Many public and private employers, as well as school systems, provide additional days off around the end of December, often including at least a full or half-day on December 24 (Christmas Eve) or December 31 (New Year's Eve) or in some cases, the entire week between Christmas and New Year.[3] [4] While not officially legislated in any capacity, internationally notable cultural holidays such as Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Mother's Day, and Father's Day are traditionally observed by Canadians as part of Canadian culture.[5]
A statutory holiday (also known as "stats" or "general" or "public" holiday) in Canada is legislated either through the federal government or a provincial or territorial government.[6] Most workers, public and private, are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. However, some employers may require employees to work on such a holiday, but the employee must either receive a day off in lieu of the holiday or must be paid at a premium rate – usually (known as "time and a half") or twice (known as "double time") the regular pay for their time worked that day, in addition to the holiday pay.[7] In most provinces, when a statutory holiday falls on a normal day off (generally a weekend), the following workday is considered a statutory holiday. Statistics Canada shows an average of 11 paid statutory holidays per year in regard to all firms and corporations operating within the province.[8]
| Date[9] | English name | French name | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | French: Jour de l'An | Celebrates the first day of every year in the Gregorian calendar | ||
| French: Vendredi saint | Commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus, on the Friday preceding Easter. In Quebec, non-federally regulated employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday as a statutory holiday, though some give both days. | |||
| July 1 | French: Fête du Canada | Celebrates Canada's 1867 Confederation and establishment of dominion status.In Newfoundland and Labrador, observed concurrently with Memorial Day. | ||
| First Monday in September | French: Fête du travail | Celebrates economic and social achievements of workers | ||
| December 25 | French: Noël | Celebrates the nativity of Jesus |
In addition to the nationwide holidays listed above, the following holidays are mandated by federal legislation for federally regulated employees. All banks and post offices commemorate these holidays, and they are statutory in some provinces and territories.
| Date | English name | French name | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In lieu of Good Friday (Stat Holiday), Monday after Easter Day | French: Lundi de Pâques | Variable date between March 23 and April 26. Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Not a statutory holiday in any province or territory; however, in Quebec employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday as a statutory holiday, though most give both days. Banks remain open (legally they cannot close for more than three consecutive days except in emergencies), but employees often receive a "floating" paid day off to be taken on or near the holiday. This is not one of the nine "General Holidays" as defined by the Canada Labour Code – Part III. As such, there is no legal requirement for private sector employers in federally regulated industries to provide Easter Monday as a paid holiday to employees. However, many federal government offices will be closed on this day. | ||
| Monday preceding May 25 | Officially French: la Fête de Victoria (more commonly called French: la Fête de la Reine) or French: Journée nationale des Patriotes | Celebrates the birthday of the reigning Canadian monarch; however, the date does not change with the change of monarch, being instead fixed on the birthday of Queen Victoria, the sovereign at the time of Canadian Confederation and establishment of dominion status in 1867. Some French-Canadians celebrate instead Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, a French-Canadian hero from the New France times on this day; officially National Patriots' Day in Quebec. Statutory holiday in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec (coincides with National Patriots' Day), Saskatchewan, and Yukon. A holiday in New Brunswick under the Days of Rest Act. Not a statutory holiday in the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. | ||
| First Monday in August | French: Premier lundi d'août | Statutory holiday in British Columbia (British Columbia Day), New Brunswick (New Brunswick Day), Northwest Territories (Civic Holiday), Nunavut (Civic Holiday), and Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Day). Civic holiday (may be a paid vacation day depending on employer) in Alberta (Heritage Day), Manitoba (Terry Fox Day), Ontario (Colonel By Day, John Galt Day, Simcoe Day, and others), and Nova Scotia (Natal Day). Not an official statutory holiday in Ontario, but it is widely observed.[10] [11] Not observed in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, or Yukon. Not observed in Prince Edward Island, though many businesses instead observe a holiday for the Gold Cup Parade, held on the third Friday in August.[12] | ||
| September 30 | French: Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation | Commemorates the victims of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Unofficial observance of this date began in 2013 as Orange Shirt Day, a local educational event in Williams Lake, British Columbia.[13] The day has been a holiday for employees of the federal government and federally-regulated industries since 2021.[14] , the day is observed as a statutory holiday for all workers in British Columbia,[15] Prince Edward Island,[16] the Northwest Territories,[17] Nunavut, and Yukon.[18] Schools and some public services close for the day in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.[19] | ||
| Second Monday in October | French: Action de grâce | A day to give thanks for the things one has at the close of the harvest season. Statutory holiday in most jurisdictions of Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. An optional holiday in the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[20] In New Brunswick, included under the Days of Rest Act. | ||
| November 11 | French: Jour du Souvenir | Commemorates Canada's war dead. Anniversary of the armistice ending World War I in 1918. Statutory holiday in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. In Manitoba, an "Official day of Observance", not a statutory holiday. In Nova Scotia, addressed in the Remembrance Day Act, which prohibits employers from allowing employees to work and prohibits employees from working with exceptions for required services.[21] Employers have the option of giving Remembrance Day or an alternate day off. Not a statutory holiday in Quebec and Ontario. | ||
| December 26 | French: Lendemain de Noël | A holiday with mixed and uncertain origins and definitions.[22] Provincially, a statutory holiday in Ontario. A holiday in New Brunswick under the Days of Rest Act. Many employers across the country observe Boxing Day as a paid day off. |
| Date | English name | French name | Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third Monday in February |
|
| Statutory holiday under various names in Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. British Columbia previously celebrated Family Day on the second Monday in February between 2013 and 2018.[23] However, British Columbia celebrates Family Day on the third Monday in February from 2019 onward.[24] New Brunswick began observing Family Day on the third Monday in February in 2018.[25] Not observed elsewhere. | |||
| One full week during the month of March (timing varies) |
|
| Week-long closure of public schools across all provinces and territories.[26] Often used as an opportunity for families with schoolchildren to go on vacation. Although March break rarely coincides with the Easter weekend, in 2018 Prince Edward Island schools considered merging it with the Easter holiday.[27] |
Governments in Canada have declared one-off holidays on certain occasions, such as the death of a Canadian monarch. A one-off holiday was declared after the death of George VI on February 15, 1952, and after the death of Elizabeth II on September 19, 2022.[28]
September 19 was named a national day of mourning to commemorate Elizabeth II as Canada's head of state. The day was a holiday for federal government employees.[29] The provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island also enacted provincial equivalents for the federal holiday. The provinces of Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec did not enact any holiday.[30]
Provinces and territories generally adopt the same holidays as the federal government with some variations.
| width=7.14% | Date | width=7.14% | AB | width=7.14% | BC | width=7.14% | MB | width=7.14% | NB | width=7.14% | NL | width=7.14% | NT | width=7.14% | NS | width=7.14% | NU | width=7.14% | ON | width=7.14% | PE | width=7.14% | QC | width=7.14% | SK | width=7.14% | YT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | colspan="13" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third Monday in February | colspan="2" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Variable date between March 20 and April 23 | colspan="13" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday after Easter Day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday preceding May 25 | colspan="3" | colspan="2" | colspan="2" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 1 | colspan="4" | colspan="8" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| July 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Monday in August | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Third Monday in August | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Monday in September | colspan="13" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second Monday in October | colspan="3" | colspan="2" | colspan="3" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| November 11 | colspan="2" | colspan="5" | colspan="2" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 25 | colspan="13" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total stat. holidays | 9[31] | 11[32] | 9[33] | 8[34] | 6[35] /15[36] | 13[37] | 6[38] /7[39] | 11[40] /13[41] | 9[42] | 8[43] | 8[44] | 10[45] | 11[46] | ||||||||||||||
Five nationwide statutory holidays, four provincial holidays as well as three "optional holidays".[47]
Provincial statutory
Optional
Five nationwide and six provincial statutory holidays.[32]
Provincial statutory
Five nationwide and three provincial statutory holidays, as well as two optional holidays.[48] Remembrance Day and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
Optional
Five nationwide and five provincial statutory holidays.[50] Although prescribed as public holidays, Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not paid public holidays.[51]
Provincial statutory
Optional
Five nationwide and one provincial statutory holiday.[53] [54] Thanksgiving is not a statutory holiday. Canada Day is not a statutory holiday as July 1 is Memorial Day.
Provincial statutory
Optional
The following is a list of designated paid holidays for government employees.[55]
These have not been observed as statutory holidays since 1992. They are, however, observed by the provincial government. Unlike most other provinces, there is no province-wide holiday on the first Monday in August. It may be seen as redundant due to the Royal St. John's Regatta, which is observed as a civic holiday in St. John's on the first Wednesday in August (or, in case of poor weather, the next suitable day thereafter). Harbour Grace and Labrador City have a similar holiday for their regatta in late July. All other municipalities are entitled to designate one day a year as a civic holiday; however, many do not take advantage of this.
Five nationwide holidays and five territorial statutory holidays.
Territorial statutory
Five nationwide holidays plus two provincial holidays. Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays but most businesses and retail are closed Boxing Day. Most statutory holidays can be substituted for a mutually agreeable alternative paid day off in lieu or employers can require employees to work at a premium rate of pay. Several types of employment, including workplaces covered by a collective agreement, are exempt from provincial rules governing statutory holidays.[57] [58] [59]
Provincial statutory
Optional
Five nationwide and four territorial statutory holidays. Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday.
Territorial statutory
Five nationwide and four provincial statutory holidays. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially recognized in Toronto in 2018 and has also been in Ottawa, though not as a paid holiday.[64] [65]
Provincial statutory
Optional
Five nationwide and three provincial statutory holidays.[67]
Provincial statutory[68]
Optional
In Quebec, there are five nationwide and three provincial statutory holidays. Remembrance Day and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays, and there is no civic holiday in August. Many details of employment law are different in Quebec. The official statutory holidays are:[70] [71]
Optional
Five nationwide and five provincial statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
Five nationwide and four territorial statutory holidays. In addition, Easter Monday, Boxing Day, and Heritage Day are statutory for public service workers. Many employers give their employees days off that may not be statutory holidays in the particular province, particularly Boxing Day.[72]
Territorial statutory
Optional
The following days are not Yukon statutory holidays:[75]
Some municipalities also have local statutory holidays. For instance, the morning of the Stampede Parade is often given as a half-day holiday in the city of Calgary. In Ontario, the August Civic Holiday is not defined provincially, but by each municipality.
In Canada, there are two definitions of the term "civic holiday":
By law, a civic holiday is defined as any holiday which is legally recognized and for which employers are obliged to offer holiday pay.
See main article: Civic Holiday. In parts of Canada, the term "Civic Holiday" is a generic name referring to the annual holiday on the first Monday of August. However, this definition is far from uniform nationwide as Quebec, Newfoundland, and Yukon do not recognize it at all (in the Yukon, a civic holiday is celebrated instead on the third Monday of August as Discovery Day). Five other provinces (Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) do not oblige employers to offer holiday pay on this day, thus not making it a civic holiday in the legal sense. No universal name is recognized for this holiday – the official name varies between the provinces and even between municipalities within Ontario. In Saskatchewan, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, it is a statutory holiday.
The Civic Holiday is meant to replace a city's birthday, also known as Natal Day. Instead of each city and town having a separate birthday celebration and day off, the Civic Holiday is observed. For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality is made up of the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth and the town of Bedford. Each of these places used to hold civic birthday celebrations on different days. Many people lived in one jurisdiction but worked in another. This meant significant confusion arose as to which day a person would be excused from work.
This holiday is commonly referred to as "August Long Weekend" but this is not a government term.
The other leading candidate for a new holiday is a weekend in February to celebrate the anniversary of the Canadian flag, or more likely a general "Heritage Day". February 15 is already designated as Flag Day, but this is simply a day of commemoration, not a statutory holiday.
In April 2014, a private member's bill to make Remembrance Day a legal holiday and give it the same status as Canada Day was introduced to the House of Commons. Bill C-597 passed second reading in the House of Commons by a margin of 258 to 2; however, it did not become law.[77]
In 2001, members of the 14th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories passed the National Aboriginal Day Act, making it the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize this day as a formal statutory holiday.[78]
For federally regulated workers, if a holiday occurs on a day that is normally not worked, then "another day off with pay will be provided".[79]
When New Year's Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday which a federally regulated worker would not normally work, they are entitled to a holiday with pay on the working day immediately before or after the holiday. If one of the other holidays falls on a weekend, then the employer must add a holiday with pay to their employees’ annual vacation or give them a paid day off at another mutually convenient time.