Paid Statutory Holidays in Employment Standards Legislation

Jurisdiction	Holidays (1) (days per year)	Eligibility Requirements: No Entitlement to Holiday Pay If…					Pay for Holidays Worked (2)
		length of service less than (in days):	failure to work on the holiday when required	failure to work on working day preceding or following the holiday	no wages earned for 15 of the 30 days (or other period) preceding the holiday	work arrangement where employee can decide whether or not to report to work
Federal	9	30	X(3)		X(4)		regular rate of wages + 1½ times regular rate for time worked
Alberta(5)	9	30(6)	X	X			a) average daily wage + 1½ times regular rate for hours worked; or b) regular rate for hours worked + paid day off
British Columbia	9	30					1½ times regular wage for first 11 hours + 2 times regular wage for each additional hour + paid day off
Manitoba	7(7)	n/a	X	X	X		regular wages + 1½ times regular rate for hours worked
New Brunswick	6	90(6)	X	X		X	regular wages + 1½ times regular rate for time worked
Newfoundland	5	30		X	X(8)		a) regular wages + normal wages b) paid day off within 30 days; or c) one additional day of vacation
Nova Scotiaa	5(7)	n/a	X(3)	X	X		regular pay + 1½ times regular rate for time worked
Ontario	8	n/a	X	X(9)		X	a) total amount of regular wages in 4 work weeks preceding week of holiday ? 20 + 1½ times regular rate for hours worked; or (b) regular rate for hours worked + paid day off
Prince Edward Island	5	30	X	X	X	X	a) one day’s pay + 1½ times regular rate for time worked; or b) regular rate for time worked + paid day off
Quebec	8	60		X	(June 24)(10)	X	wages for work done, plus a) average daily wages; or b) paid day off
Saskatchewan	9	n/a					regular wages (or pro-rated amount) + 1½ times regular rate for time worked
Northwest Territories/ Nunavut(11)	10 / 9	30(6)	X	X			regular rate of wages for normal hours (or average daily wages), plus a) 1½ times regular rate for time worked; or b) paid day off
Yukon	9	30	X	X	X(12)		regular wages, plus (a) 1½ times regular rate for hours worked; or (b) regular rate for hours worked + another day off

Notes:

The information above applies in most cases. However, statutes and regulations may include a number of exceptions. Some types of work and industries are specifically excluded from statutory holiday provisions in many jurisdictions.

(1) The following statutory holidays are recognized in the labour/employment standards legislation of the various Canadian jurisdictions:

• New Year’s Day, Good Friday (or Easter Monday in Quebec), Canada Day (Memorial Day in Nfld.), Labour Day, Christmas Day : all jurisdictions;
• Victoria Day (Dollard Day in Quebec), Thanksgiving Day : all jurisdictions, except N.B., Nfld., N.S. and P.E.I;
• 1^st Monday in August : B.C. (British Columbia Day), N.B. (New Brunswick Day), Sask. (Saskatchewan Day), NWT., Nunavut;
• Remembrance Day : federal jurisdiction, Alta., B.C., Sask., NWT., Nunavut, Yukon; also see note 7;
• Boxing Day : federal jurisdiction, Ont.
• Other statutory holidays include Family Day in Alberta (3^rd Monday of February); National Aboriginal Day in the Northwest Territories (June 21); St. John the Baptist’s Day in Quebec (National Holiday, June 24); and Discovery Day in the Yukon (3^rd Monday in August).

(2) This information pertains to employees who are eligible for holiday pay. Different conditions may apply for certain occupations or industries (e.g. continuous operations); moreover, some categories of employees are specifically excluded from provisions regarding public holidays in the applicable legislation (e.g. managers, professionals, certain agricultural workers). It should be noted that employees do not usually have a legislated right to refuse to work on a holiday, except in Newfoundland and, for employees in most retail business establishments, in Ontario. In Manitoba, employees in retail business establishments have the right to refuse to work on Remembrance Day.

(3) Applies in the case of employees working in continuous operations.

(4) Holiday pay may be pro-rated for employees who are unable to establish 15 days of wages in the 30 day period because of their terms and conditions of employment.

(5) In Alberta, employees are not entitled to holiday pay or a compensatory day off if a holiday falls on a non-working day.

(6) Number of days of service in the preceding year.

(7) Remembrance Day is not recognized as a general holiday in the labour/employment standards legislation of Manitoba and Nova Scotia. However, employees who meet qualifying requirements are entitled, if required to work on that day, to holiday pay and wages for no less than ½ the normal working hours in Manitoba and to another day off with pay in Nova Scotia.

(8) In the case of Newfoundland, an employee must not have been absent for 15 or more of the 30 days preceding the holiday, unless for an annual vacation, a pregnancy, or a parental, adoption, bereavement or sick leave.

(9) This condition applies to cases where an employee is to take a day off on the holiday. Moreover, it is not necessary to pay public holiday pay to an employee who fails to perform all of the work agreed to on a holiday and who also fails, without reasonable cause, to work all of the scheduled days of work immediately before and after the holiday.

(10) An employer in Quebec is not required to grant a holiday with pay for the National Holiday to an employee who has not been entitled to wages, or an indemnity, for at least 10 days in the period from June 1 to June 23.

(11) In addition to other requirements, employees in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are not entitled to holiday pay if they are on pregnancy or parental leave.

(12) Employees in the Yukon who have been absent without pay for 14 consecutive days immediately preceding the holiday, on a leave of absence at their request, are not entitled to holiday pay.

Labour Law Analysis
Strategic Policy and International Labour Affairs
Labour Branch; Human Resources Development Canada
November 15, 2001