Canadian Statutory Holiday Rules

If a holiday falls on a non-workday then another day will be observed as the holiday - usually the preceding or following Monday or Friday. View the 2009 statutory holiday calendar for holiday dates in 2009. For example, Canada Day is usually observed on July 1st but if that's a Sunday then Monday will be given as a day off. If it's a Saturday then normally Friday becomes the day off.

On national statutory holidays in Canada, also called as public holidays, all federal offices including banks are closed. Most employees are entitled by law to take the day off and receive full salary for the day, however, some businesses may require employees to work on statutory holidays - in these cases the workers must be compensated financially (1x5 or 2x their regular wages) and in some cases they are also given another day off. Be sure, however, to coordinate this with your boss; never take your holiday schedule for granted!

More information, including Government of Canada publications, is available on the resources page.

Back to the list of statutory holidays.