Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, 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, and six additional holidays for federal employees. 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. Currently, the provinces of Alberta and Prince Edward Island have the most legislated holidays in comparison to other provinces and territories, with 12 days off.
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. While not officially legislated in any capacity, internationally notable cultural holidays such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, Mother's Day, and Father's Day are traditionally observed by Canadians as part of Canadian culture.
Statutory holidays
A statutory holiday (also known as "stats" or "general" or "public" holiday) in Canada is legislated either through the federal, or a provincial or territorial government. 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 â€" usually 1½ (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 (except for high technology workers in British Columbia). In most provinces, when a statutory holiday falls on a normal day off (generally a weekend), the following work day 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.
Nationwide statutory holidays in Canada
Statutory holidays for federal employees
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.
Other common holidays
Provincial and territorial holidays
Provinces and territories generally adopt the same holidays as the federal government with some variations:
Alberta
- Five nationwide statutory holidays, four provincial holidays as well as three "optional holidays".
Provincial statutory
- Alberta Family Day â€" third Monday in February
- Victoria Day â€" the Monday preceding May 25
- Thanksgiving - second Monday in October
- Remembrance Day â€" November 11
Optional
- Easter Monday â€" optional holiday, variable date between March 23 and April 26
- Heritage Day â€" optional holiday, first Monday of August
- Boxing Day â€" optional Holiday, December 26.
British Columbia
- Five nationwide and five provincial statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
- Family Day â€" second Monday of February
- Victoria Day â€" last Monday before or on May 24
- British Columbia Day â€" first Monday of August
- Thanksgiving â€" second Monday of October
- Remembrance Day â€" November 11
Manitoba
- Five nationwide and three provincial statutory holidays, as well as two optional holidays. Remembrance Day and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
- Louis Riel Day â€" third Monday in February
- Victoria Day â€" last Monday before May 25
- Thanksgiving â€" second Monday in October
Optional
- Terry Fox Day (Civic Holiday) â€" first Monday in August; not a statutory holiday.
- Remembrance Day â€" an "Official day of Observance", not a statutory holiday.
New Brunswick
- Five nationwide and five provincial statutory holidays. Although prescribed as public holidays, Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not paid public holidays.
Provincial statutory
- Family Day - third Monday in February (starting in 2018)
- Fredericton Day - third Monday in February
- New Brunswick Day â€" first Monday in August
- Remembrance Day â€" November 11
Optional
- Victoria Day
- Thanksgiving
- Boxing Day
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Five nationwide and one provincial statutory holiday. Thanksgiving is not a statutory holiday. Canada Day is not a statutory holiday as July 1 is Memorial Day.
Provincial statutory
- Memorial Day (July 1)
- Armistice Day (November 11)
Optional
- Saint Patrick's Day (March 17)
- Saint George's Day (April 23)
- Discovery Day (June 24)
- Orangemen's Day (July 12)
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.
Northwest Territories
- Five nationwide holidays and five territorial statutory holidays.
Territorial statutory
- Victoria Day
- National Aboriginal Day â€" June 21
- Civic Holiday â€" First Monday in August
- Remembrance Day
- Thanksgiving
Nova Scotia
- 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.
Provincial statutory
- Heritage Day - This holiday is held on the third Monday of February as of 2015, and celebrates notable people, events and locations from the province's history. In 2015, Heritage Day celebrated Black Nova Scotian civil rights activist and businesswoman Viola Desmond.
- Remembrance Day â€" This holiday is governed separately from all other public holidays in Nova Scotia as of 1998. It is illegal for any person to offer any goods or real property for sale on this date, or to accept or offer employment in exchange for gain or reward. There are special exemptions for workers who are employed in certain categories but an alternative day off with pay must be offered in lieu.
Optional
- Natal Day â€" first Monday in August; not a statutory holiday but a common day off in Halifax Regional Municipality.
- Five nationwide and four territorial statutory holidays. Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday.
Territorial statutory
- Victoria Day
- Civic Holiday â€" first Monday in August.
- Thanksgiving
- Remembrance Day
Optional
- Nunavut Day â€" July 9, originated as a paid holiday for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and regional Inuit associations. It became a ½ day holiday for Government employees in 1999 and a full day in 2001. Most employers give the day off with the notable exceptions being the Federal Government and the North West Company. Not a statutory holiday.
Ontario
- Five nationwide and four provincial statutory holidays plus one common municipal holiday.
Provincial statutory
- Family Day â€" third Monday in February.
- Victoria Day â€" on the Monday before May 25
- Thanksgiving
- Boxing Day
Optional
- August Civic Public Holiday â€" first Monday in August. This is not a statutory holiday, and, as such, only federal employers are required to give the day off.
- Remembrance Day â€" This is also not a Paid Public (Stat) Holiday and as such provincially regulated employers are not required to treat this as a holiday.
Prince Edward Island
- Five nationwide and two provincial statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
- Islander Day â€" third Monday in February (originally second).
- Remembrance Day
Optional
- Gold Cup Parade Day celebrated mainly in the capital city of Charlottetown on the third Friday in August marking the end of the Provincial Exhibition and the Gold Cup and Saucer race at the Charlottetown Driving Park, which is a bank and contract holiday for some Civil Servants (others get the first Monday of August as a Civic Holiday).
- Easter Monday
- Victoria Day
- Civic Holiday â€" first Monday in August (Federal government only)
- Thanksgiving Day
- Boxing Day
Quebec
- 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 of the specific details of employment law are quite different in Quebec.
- Employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday as a statutory holiday, though some give both days.
Provincial statutory
- National Patriots' Day (French: Journée nationale des patriotes) coincides with Victoria Day.
- National Holiday (French: Fête nationale du Québec) on June 24 coincides with the Midsummer (St. John the Baptist Day).
- Thanksgiving (French: Action de grâce)
Optional
- Construction Holiday (French: Vacances de la construction) takes place during the last two weeks of July and also the last two weeks of December for Christmas holidays â€" while it applies officially only to the construction industry, many other Quebecers arrange to take their vacations during these two weeks.
Saskatchewan
- Five nationwide and five provincial statutory holidays.
Provincial statutory
- Family Day â€" third Monday in February
- Victoria Day
- Saskatchewan Day â€" first Monday in August. Celebration of Saskatchewan history and culture similar to Canada Day.
- Thanksgiving
- Remembrance Day
Yukon
- 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.
Territorial statutory
- Victoria Day
- Discovery Day â€" third Monday in August
- Thanksgiving
- Remembrance Day
- National Aboriginal Day â€" June 21 - as of May 8, 2017
Optional
- Heritage Day â€" Friday before the last Sunday in February â€" optional for non-public service workers
Municipal holidays
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.
Civic holidays
In Canada, there are two definitions of the term "civic holiday":
Legal definition
By law, a civic holiday is defined as any holiday which is legally recognized and for which employers are obliged to offer holiday pay.
The August 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 the 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 â€" the official name varies between the provinces and even between municipalities within Ontario. In Manitoba, 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 aka Natal Day. Instead of each city and town having a separate birthday celebration and day off, the August Civic Holiday is observed. For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality is made up of former cities 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 would be very confusing 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.
Proposed holidays
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 the province of Nova Scotia, which has relatively few days off, a bill has been introduced for a new holiday for the third Monday in February, to start in 2015.
In November 2014, Bill C-597 passed second reading in the House of Commons by a margin of 258 to 2. If the bill becomes law, Remembrance Day would become a federal holiday in Canada.
In 2001, members of the 14th Legislative Assembly passed the National Aboriginal Day Act making the Northwest Territories the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize this day as a formal statutory holiday.
Holidays occurring on non-work days
If a holiday occurs on a day that is normally not worked, then "...another day off with pay will be provided". There are some exceptions, however. In Alberta, an employee is not entitled to compensation if a holiday falls on a non-work day.
When New Year's Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday you would not normally work, you 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 your employer must add a holiday with pay to your annual vacation or give you a paid day off at another mutually convenient time.
Other observances
- Raoul Wallenberg Day, January 17
- Groundhog Day, February 2
- Valentine's Day, February 14
- National Flag of Canada Day, February 15
- Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March. This has been observed as a holiday in some Commonwealth countries.
- Saint Patrick's Day, March 17
- April Fool's Day, April 1
- Tartan Day, April 6
- Earth Day, April 22
- Mother's Day, second Sunday of May
- Father's Day, third Sunday of June
- Loyalist Day, June 19, celebrating Canada's Loyalist heritage, particularly in Ontario and New Brunswick (also the day Upper Canada was created, now Ontario)
- National Aboriginal Day, June 21 as part of the Celebrate Canada series
- Canadian Multiculturalism Day, June 27 as part of the Celebrate Canada series
- National Peacekeepers' Day, August 9 observed on the closest Sunday
- National Grandparents' Day, second Sunday in September
- National Family Week, week before Thanksgiving
- Halloween, October 31
- National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, December 6
See also
- List of festivals in Canada
- List of holidays by country
References
Further reading
- Jepson, Tim (2004), The rough guide to Canada, Rough Guides, pp. 50â€"52, ISBN 1-84353-266-2Â
External links
- Statutory Holidays in British Columbia
- Statutory Holidays in Quebec
- iCal Calendars found for ‘Canada’ iCalShare
- Overview of Canadian statutory holidays