COUNTRYSpec

Public holidays in Canada

5 days in 2026 · 5 in 2027

Back to CanadaNorth America

Next public holiday

Christmas Day

After it: New Year's Day, Friday 1 January

Friday, 25 December 2026

Canada has five statutory holidays that apply everywhere: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day. In 2026 all five fall on a weekday. Every other day off is set by each province or territory for its own workers, and by Parliament for federal employees and federally regulated industries such as banks and the post office, so the number of days off depends on where a person lives and who employs them.

The result is a calendar that differs across the country more than most. Wikipedia's count of statutory holidays runs from 6 in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Nova Scotia to 13 in the Northwest Territories. Victoria Day in May is a day off in most of the west and Ontario but not in the three eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; Quebec keeps the same Monday as National Patriots' Day. Thanksgiving is statutory in nine jurisdictions and optional in the four Atlantic provinces.

The newest day is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on 30 September, created in 2021 for federal employees to commemorate the victims of the residential school system. As of 2023 it was a statutory holiday for all workers only in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.

Days off in 2026
5Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
5Monday to Friday
On a weekend
0Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
3and 1 with one day of leave

2026

Public holidays in Canada in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayThe first day of the Gregorian year, one of the five nationwide statutory holidays.Thursday
  2. 3 April: Good FridayThe Friday before Easter, one of the five nationwide statutory holidays. In Quebec, employers outside federal regulation may give either Good Friday or Easter Monday.FridayDate moves
  3. 1 July: Canada Day1 July, the anniversary of Confederation in 1867, one of the five nationwide statutory holidays. In Newfoundland and Labrador it is also Memorial Day.Wednesday
  4. 7 September: Labour DayThe first Monday in September, one of the five nationwide statutory holidays, first legislated in 1894.MondayDate moves
  5. 25 December: Christmas Day25 December, one of the five nationwide statutory holidays.Friday

Long weekends

Long weekends in Canada in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
  • 3daysFri 3 Apr to Sun 5 AprGood Friday
  • 3daysSat 5 Sept to Mon 7 SeptLabour Day
  • 3daysFri 25 Dec to Sun 27 DecChristmas Day

2027

Public holidays in Canada in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
  2. 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
  3. 1 July: Canada DayThursday
  4. 6 September: Labour DayMondayDate moves
  5. 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday

Regional

Holidays kept in parts of Canada

Public holidays in 2026 that are days off only in the regions listed, by their ISO 3166-2 codes.

  1. 16 February: Louis Riel DayCA-MBManitoba's name for the third Monday in February, after the Métis leader who led the Red River resistance of 1869 and 1870.MondayDate moves
  2. 16 February: Islander DayCA-PEPrince Edward Island's day off on the third Monday in February, originally held on the second.MondayDate moves
  3. 16 February: Heritage DayCA-NSIn Nova Scotia, the third Monday in February since 2015, celebrating people, events and places from the province's history; the first honoured Viola Desmond. In Alberta, Heritage Day is the name of the August civic holiday, an optional day off.MondayDate moves
  4. 16 February: Family DayCA-AB · CA-BC · CA-NB · CA-ON · CA-SKThe third Monday in February in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan. New Brunswick first observed it in 2018, and British Columbia moved it from the second to the third Monday from 2019.MondayDate moves
  5. 6 April: Easter MondayCA-NTA federal holiday and statutory in the Northwest Territories. It is not one of the nine general holidays of the Canada Labour Code, so federally regulated private employers need not give it.MondayDate moves
  6. 18 May: National Patriots' DayCA-QCQuebec's name for the Monday before 25 May, the same day the rest of Canada marks as Victoria Day.MondayDate moves
  7. 18 May: Victoria DayCA-AB · CA-BC · CA-MB · CA-NT · CA-NU · CA-ON · CA-SK · CA-YTThe Monday before 25 May, fixed on Queen Victoria's birthday and kept as the monarch's official birthday. Not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador.MondayDate moves
  8. 21 June: National Indigenous Peoples DayCA-NT · CA-YT21 June. The Northwest Territories made it a statutory holiday in 2001 under the National Aboriginal Day Act, and Yukon did so in 2017.Sunday
  9. 24 June: National HolidayFête nationale du QuébecCA-QCSaint-Jean-Baptiste Day, 24 June, a statutory holiday in Quebec only.Wednesday
  10. 9 July: Nunavut DayCA-NU9 July, a territorial statutory holiday in Nunavut.Thursday
  11. 3 August: Civic HolidayCA-NT · CA-NUThe first Monday in August, statutory under that name only in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In Ontario it is widely observed but defined by each municipality, as Simcoe Day in Toronto or Colonel By Day in Ottawa.MondayDate moves
  12. 3 August: British Columbia DayCA-BCBritish Columbia's statutory holiday on the first Monday in August.MondayDate moves
  13. 3 August: New Brunswick DayCA-NBNew Brunswick's statutory holiday on the first Monday in August.MondayDate moves
  14. 3 August: Saskatchewan DayCA-SKSaskatchewan's statutory holiday on the first Monday in August, celebrating the province's history and culture.MondayDate moves
  15. 17 August: Discovery DayCA-YTYukon's statutory holiday on the third Monday in August.MondayDate moves
  16. 30 September: National Day for Truth and ReconciliationCA-BC · CA-NT · CA-NU · CA-PE · CA-YT30 September, honouring the survivors of residential schools and their families. It grew out of Orange Shirt Day, begun in 2013, and has been a federal holiday since 2021.Wednesday
  17. 12 October: ThanksgivingCA-AB · CA-BC · CA-MB · CA-NT · CA-NU · CA-ON · CA-QC · CA-SK · CA-YTThe second Monday in October, at the close of the harvest. Statutory in nine jurisdictions and optional in the Atlantic provinces.MondayDate moves
  18. 11 November: Armistice DayCA-NLNewfoundland and Labrador's name for Remembrance Day, 11 November, a provincial statutory holiday.Wednesday
  19. 11 November: Remembrance DayCA-AB · CA-BC · CA-NB · CA-NT · CA-NS · CA-NU · CA-PE · CA-SK · CA-YT11 November, the anniversary of the armistice of 1918, remembering Canada's war dead. Not statutory in Ontario, Quebec or Manitoba; in Nova Scotia a separate act forbids most work and selling that day.Wednesday
  20. 26 December: St. Stephen's DayBoxing DayCA-NT · CA-ON26 December, a statutory holiday in Ontario and the Northwest Territories and a day off for many employers elsewhere.Saturday

Observances

Days marked in Canada that are not days off

  1. 17 March: Saint Patrick's DayCA-NLA paid day for Newfoundland and Labrador government employees; not a statutory holiday for other workers since 1992.Tuesday
  2. 23 April: Saint George's DayCA-NLA paid day for Newfoundland and Labrador government employees on 23 April, not a statutory holiday for other workers.Thursday
  3. 22 June: June HolidayCA-NLNewfoundland and Labrador's government holiday on the Monday closest to 24 June, called Discovery Day until 2020.MondayDate moves
  4. 13 July: Orangemen's DayCA-NLA Newfoundland and Labrador government holiday on the Monday closest to 12 July.MondayDate moves
  5. 3 August: Heritage DayCA-ABIn Nova Scotia, the third Monday in February since 2015, celebrating people, events and places from the province's history; the first honoured Viola Desmond. In Alberta, Heritage Day is the name of the August civic holiday, an optional day off.MondayDate moves
  6. 3 August: Natal DayCA-NSThe first Monday in August in Nova Scotia, marking the founding of the Halifax and Dartmouth area. It is not statutory but is a common day off in the Halifax Regional Municipality.MondayDate moves
  7. 21 August: Gold Cup Parade DayCA-PEThe third Friday in August in Charlottetown, marking the end of the Provincial Exhibition and the Gold Cup and Saucer race. Some businesses in central and eastern Prince Edward Island close.FridayDate moves

Federal law sets separate rules for its own workers. When New Year's Day, Canada Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday that a federally regulated employee would not work, the employee gets the working day before or after as a paid holiday. In most provinces a statutory holiday that falls on a weekend moves to the next working day in the same way. In 2027 Christmas Day falls on a Saturday.

Governments have declared one-off holidays on the death of a monarch: on 15 February 1952 for George VI and on 19 September 2022 for Elizabeth II. The 2022 day of mourning was a holiday for federal employees and in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but not in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Quebec.

The dates on this page come from a holiday calendar provider, corrected against the provincial lists: the provider marks Victoria Day, Thanksgiving and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as nationwide, and the Newfoundland and Labrador government days as statutory, when they are not.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Canada

How many statutory holidays does Canada have?

Five apply nationwide: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day. Federal employees get six more, and each province and territory adds its own, so the total depends on the province: Wikipedia counts 6 in Newfoundland and Labrador and 13 in the Northwest Territories. Statistics Canada puts the average at 11 paid statutory holidays a year.

Is Victoria Day a holiday everywhere in Canada?

No. It is statutory in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the three territories, and Quebec takes the same Monday as National Patriots' Day. It is not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2026 it falls on 18 May and in 2027 on 24 May.

Is 30 September a day off in Canada?

For federal employees and federally regulated workers, yes, since 2021. As of 2023 it was also a statutory holiday for all workers in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. In Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador schools and some public services close; elsewhere most workers have a normal day.

When is Thanksgiving in Canada?

On the second Monday in October, 12 October in 2026 and 11 October in 2027. It is statutory in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the three territories, and optional in the four Atlantic provinces. In New Brunswick it falls under the Days of Rest Act, which prescribes it without making it a paid holiday.

What is Family Day in Canada?

A holiday on the third Monday in February, 16 February in 2026, added by provinces from the early 1990s because there was no statutory holiday between New Year's Day and Good Friday. It is called Family Day in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan, Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Islander Day in Prince Edward Island and Heritage Day in Nova Scotia. Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the territories do not observe it.

Why does Quebec celebrate a different day in May?

Quebec keeps the Monday before 25 May as National Patriots' Day, the day the rest of Canada marks as Victoria Day for the monarch's birthday. Some French Canadians mark the date instead for Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, a hero of New France. Quebec's own national holiday is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on 24 June.

Is Remembrance Day a statutory holiday?

In most of the country, but not in Ontario or Quebec, and in Manitoba it is an official day of observance rather than a holiday. Nova Scotia's Remembrance Day Act goes further than the others: it makes it illegal to offer goods for sale or to employ people for gain on 11 November, with exceptions for essential services.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-30. The page counts from Wednesday, 30 September 2026, the day it was built.