Public Holidays in Canada

Below is the list of  Public Holidays in Canada otherwise known as Statutory Holidays in Canada;

For 2024 Canadian Provincial Holiday details click on the Province icon;

Alberta British Columbia Manitoba Newfoundland and Labrador New Brunswick Nova Scotia Northwest Territories Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon

Canada is the second-largest country in the world after Russia and it is the largest country in North America. Canada is officially bilingual, English and French are the official languages in Canada. Even though it’s the second-largest country, Canada ranks only 39^th on the list of the world population.

The Canadian confederation consists of 13 Provinces and 3 Territories, The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their power and authority from the Constitution Act of1867. The territorial governments’ powers are delegated to them by the Parliament of Canada.

Every Province or Territory of Canada has its own provincial holiday(s), check the provincial holiday list for more details. Although not official holidays, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Halloween are traditionally celebrated by Canadians. The observance of individuals’ religious holidays is widely accepted as well. For example, some school children and employees take days off for Jewish holidays, Muslim holidays, or Eastern Orthodox observances according to the Julian calendar.

Statutory Holidays in Canada

A statutory holiday (also known as “general” or “public” holiday) in Canada is legislated either through the federal, provincial, or territorial governments. Most workers, public or private, are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. However, for businesses that are normally open employers may require employees to work on such a holiday, but in this case, must be paid at a premium rate — usually 1½ (known as “time and a half”) or 2 times (known as “double time”) the regular pay. In most provinces, when a statutory holiday falls on a normal day off (generally a weekend), the following workday is considered a statutory holiday.

Federal Holidays

The nine statutory holidays listed above are mandated by federal legislation for federally regulated employees, as is Easter Monday. All banks apply these holidays to their schedule.

Provincial and territorial Holidays

Provinces and territories generally adopt the same holidays as the federal government with some variations:

Many employers give their employees days off that may not be statutory holidays in the particular province, particularly Boxing Day. Similarly, many federally regulated employees have negotiated additional holidays, which are common in the provinces such that many also take Easter Monday and the first Monday in August.

City holidays

Some cities also have statutory holidays that are celebrated only within the city limits. For instance, the morning of the Stampede Parade is a legal half-day holiday in the city of Calgary.