Statutory Holidays in Canada 2026–2027: Every Province and Territory

Which rules apply to you: federal or provincial?

Most Canadians are covered by their province's or territory's employment standards law. A smaller group is instead covered by the Canada Labour Code: people working for federally regulated employers such as banks, airlines, railways, interprovincial trucking, telecommunications, Canada Post and the federal public service. Federal employees get the federal list wherever they live.

"Statutory holiday" means a day off with pay (or premium pay if you work) that the law guarantees. Holidays that an employer gives by policy or collective agreement, such as a civic holiday in Ontario, are not statutory even if most workplaces close.

Statutory holidays by province and territory

The same data by holiday

* Quebec: employers choose either Good Friday or Easter Monday as the paid holiday. ** Nova Scotia: Remembrance Day is not a Labour Standards Code holiday; it falls under the province's separate Remembrance Day Act, which can give a worker who works November 11 another paid day off. "Optional" (Alberta) means the employer may choose to recognize the day. Abbreviations: Fed = federally regulated workplaces; BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL = provinces; YT, NT, NU = territories.

Remaining 2026 and all 2027 holiday dates

In 2027, Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday, and in 2026 Boxing Day is a Saturday. When a holiday lands on a day you don't normally work, most provinces give you another paid day off or holiday pay instead; the rule differs by jurisdiction (see below).

Holiday pay basics by jurisdiction

This is a summary. Managers, commissioned and some seasonal workers follow special rules, and a collective agreement can give more. Your provincial employment standards office has the authoritative rules for your situation.

When a holiday falls on a weekend

• Federal: if New Year's Day, Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas or Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday you don't normally work, you get the holiday on the scheduled work day immediately before or after. For the other holidays, a paid day can be added to your vacation.
• Ontario: you get a substitute day off with public holiday pay, or holiday pay alone if you agree in writing.
• New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba: another working day off with pay (often the next one).
• British Columbia, Saskatchewan: you receive holiday pay whether or not the day is a working day for you.
• Alberta: if the holiday is not one of your regular work days, you are not owed holiday pay unless you work it.

Federal law also moves Canada Day to Monday, July 2 when July 1 is a Sunday.

What is open and closed on statutory holidays

On holidays observed nationally (New Year's Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Boxing Day), federal government offices and the CRA are closed and Canada Post does not deliver mail. Bank employees are federally regulated and have the federal holidays; branch hours are set by each bank. On Remembrance Day, Canada Post does not deliver and federally regulated employees have a paid holiday even in provinces where it is not a provincial holiday, while most private businesses in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba stay open. Retail opening on holidays is governed by separate provincial and municipal rules, so stores, malls and liquor outlets vary by city.

When a CRA payment or filing deadline falls on a public holiday, it is considered on time if received the next business day.

Common mix-ups

• The August long weekend is a statutory holiday in BC, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, the NWT and Nunavut, optional in Alberta, and not a statutory holiday in Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Quebec.
• Boxing Day is statutory only for federally regulated workers and in Ontario (optional in Alberta).
• September 30 is a holiday for federal workers and in BC, Manitoba, PEI and the three territories, but not in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan or the Atlantic provinces other than PEI (optional in Alberta).
• Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial government gives its own employees extra days such as St. Patrick's Day and Orangemen's Day. Those are not statutory holidays for private-sector workers.