New Year's Day 2027 in Canada: Friday, January 1

New Year's Day dates

The date is fixed: January 1, every year. Only the weekday changes, and that decides whether the holiday lengthens a weekend or, as in 2028, lands on a Saturday and triggers the substitute-day rules explained below.

A statutory holiday everywhere

Every employment standards law in Canada lists New Year's Day: the Canada Labour Code (banks, airlines, railways, telecoms, Canada Post and other federally regulated employers) and the laws of each province and territory. The names differ, "general holiday", "statutory holiday", "public holiday" or "paid holiday", but the effect is the same: most employees either get the day off with holiday pay or are paid extra to work it.

Some provinces add eligibility conditions, such as having worked for the employer for a minimum period (30 days in British Columbia, for example) or working your scheduled shifts before and after the holiday. Check your province on the statutory holidays in Canada page.

Holiday pay on January 1

Each province has its own formula, but the approach is similar everywhere: if you get the day off, you receive roughly an average day's pay; if you work, you get extra. Two examples:

• Ontario: public holiday pay is your regular wages earned in the four work weeks before the holiday's work week, plus vacation pay payable for those weeks, divided by 20. Someone who earned $3,200 in regular wages in those four weeks and no vacation pay gets $160. If you agree to work, you choose either holiday pay plus 1.5 times your regular rate for the hours worked, or regular pay plus a paid substitute day off.
• Federally regulated employees: holiday pay is at least one-twentieth of the wages, excluding overtime, earned in the four weeks before the holiday. Working the day earns 1.5 times your regular rate on top of that holiday pay.

Restaurants, hotels, hospitals and continuous operations can often schedule staff on a holiday without their consent, under special rules. Collective agreements can give more than the minimum. For your own situation, contact your provincial employment standards office or the federal Labour Program.

What is open and closed on January 1, 2027

December 29 to 31 are regular business days for banks and Canada Post. A stock trade made on Thursday, December 31, 2026 settles on Monday, January 4, 2027, after the holiday and the weekend, which matters for year-end tax-loss selling. Some banks have also closed their Quebec branches on January 2 in past years; in 2027 that date is a Saturday.

Last New Year's Eve, the City of Toronto made the TTC, GO Transit and UP Express free from 7 p.m. on December 31 to 8 a.m. on January 1; other cities run their own holiday service. Each city announces its 2026–27 arrangements in December.

When New Year's Day falls on a weekend (2028)

On Saturday, January 1, 2028, people who don't normally work Saturdays still keep their holiday, but how depends on who employs them:

• Federally regulated employees: section 193 of the Canada Labour Code gives New Year's Day, when it falls on a non-working Saturday or Sunday, as a holiday with pay on the working day immediately before or after it. Depending on the schedule, that can be Friday, December 31, 2027 or Monday, January 3, 2028.
• Ontario: you are entitled to a substitute paid day off, scheduled within three months (12 months with your written or electronic agreement), or holiday pay for the day if you agree in writing.
• Quebec: the holiday stays on January 1. If it is your usual day off, your employer pays an indemnity or gives a compensating paid day off.
• Other provinces have their own substitution rules, usually a paid day off on the next working day or holiday pay.

Banks, Canada Post and the TSX publish their own closure dates for weekend holidays. In 2028 they had not been announced when this page was checked.

What changes on January 1

New Year's Day is also when many annual numbers reset:

• RRSP dollar limit: $35,390 for 2027, up from $33,810 for 2026 (CRA). Your personal room still depends on your income.
• TFSA room: new contribution room is added on January 1 for every adult resident. The CRA posts the 2027 figure before the new year.
• CPP and EI: new contribution rates and maximums apply from the first pay of the year, and CPP benefits are indexed in January.
• The RRSP window for 2026 stays open until March 1, 2027: January contributions can still be deducted on your 2026 return.

How the holiday came to be

January 1 has been the start of the civil year in Britain and its colonies since the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752, and in French Canada long before that. In federal law today, the Interpretation Act lists New Year's Day among the holidays that apply to all federal laws, and the Canada Labour Code names it as a general holiday.

In Quebec, the Jour de l'An was traditionally the main family holiday of the season, with the father's blessing and large meals, while Christmas was more religious. For when midnight arrives across the country's time zones, see New Year's Eve in Canada.