Public holidays in Canada Totally Explained

Everything about Public Holidays In Canada totally explained

In Canada, each province has its own provincial holiday(s). Although unofficial holidays, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Hallowe'en are traditionally celebrated by Canadians. The observance of individuals' religious holidays is widely accepted as well (see Multiculturalism). 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

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. In this case the employee 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 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. Canadian national holidays (with provincial exceptions):

Date	English Name	French Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Le jour de l'An	Statutory. Celebrates the first day of every year in the Gregorian calendar. Also January 2 in Quebec.
Friday before Easter Sunday	Good Friday	Le vendredi saint	Statutory, except in Quebec where Easter Monday is statutory. Acknowledges the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, traditionally on 3 April, 33 AD; see Good Friday article for details. Not fully observed in Quebec.
Easter Sunday	Easter	Pâques	Not Statutory

Federal

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

Holidays occurring on non-work days

If a holiday occurs on a day that's normally not worked, then "... another day off with pay will be provided." There are some exceptions, however. In Alberta, an employee isn't entitled to compensation if a holiday falls on a non-work day, which some believe to be in contravention of the Canada Labour Code.
There are also specific laws pertinent to St-Jean-Baptiste day in Québec.

All federal holidays as listed above. Canada Day is additionally celebrated as Memorial Day.
Easter Sunday (in some cases, for example banks, observed on Monday)
Unlike most other provinces, there's 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 (weather permitting). Harbour Grace has a similar holiday for its regatta. All other municipalities are entitled to designate one day a year as a civic holiday, however many don't take advantage of this.
St. Patrick's Day (March 17), St. George's Day (April 23), Discovery Day (June 24) and Orangemen's Day (July 12) have not been observed as statutory holidays since 1992. They are, however, observed by the provincial government.

- 10 holidays

National Aboriginal Day - June 21

- 5 holidays

Victoria Day, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day and Remembrance Day are not statutory holidays.
Remembrance Day, although not a statutory holiday, is defined under the province's Remembrance Day Act as a holiday where employers have the option of giving Remembrance Day or an alternate day off.
Natal Day - First Monday in August isn't a statutory holiday but a common day off.

- 9 holidays

Nunavut Day - 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.
Boxing Day isn't a statutory holiday.
First Monday in August.

- 9 holidays

Family Day - third Monday in February (Effective 2008)
Remembrance Day isn't a statutory holiday in Ontario.
Although not a statutory holiday, municipalities may designate the first Monday in August as a civic holiday. This is called Simcoe Day in Toronto, and Colonel By Day in Ottawa, with other areas using other names.

- 6 holidays

The August Civic holiday, Easter Monday, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays. However, Federal Government employees (and some Provincial employees) do have arrangements in their collective agreements to receive these as paid days off. Provincial employees in some cases have bargained for the Gold Cup and Saucer Day in place of the August Civic holiday.

- 8 holidays

By law, employers must give either Good Friday or Easter Monday as a statutory holiday, however most will give both days.
Victoria Day coincides with National Patriotes Day.
Fête Nationale (St. John the Baptist Day) - June 24
Construction Holiday takes place during the last two weeks of July — while it applies officially only to the construction industry, many other Quebecers arrange to take their vacations during these two weeks.
Many of the specific details of employment law are quite different in Quebec.

- 9 holidays

Family Day - third Monday in February
Saskatchewan Day - first Monday in August. Celebration of Saskatchewan history and culture similar to Canada Day.

- 9 holidays

Discovery Day - third Monday in August

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, that are common holidays in the provinces such that many also take Easter Monday and the first Monday in August.

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 holiday

Another common definition of the civic holiday refers to a particular annual holiday, celebrated on the first Monday of August in most Canadian provinces. However, this definition is far from uniform nationwide. Two provinces and one territory don't recognize it at all, and five other provinces don't oblige employers to offer holiday pay on this day, thus making it a civic holiday in the legal sense. No universal name is recognized for this holiday, either — the official name varies between the provinces and even between municipalities within Ontario. In British Columbia this day is known as BC Day.

Town holidays

Some towns also have statutory holidays that are celebrated only within the town limits. For instance, the morning of the Stampede Parade is often given (particularly to downtown workers) as a half-day holiday in the city of Calgary.

Proposed holidays

In recent years there has been a call for the Canadian government to recognize St. Patrick's Day as a national holiday. Currently it's a holiday only for provincial government employees in Newfoundland and Labrador.
   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.
   The major Canadian breweries have long lobbied for a holiday in June.
   Some Canadians believe that the country doesn't have enough holidays (in comparison to the United States and the United Kingdom. Although these nations have about the same number of nationally recognized holidays, they generally receive more days off work and school). Proposals for more work holidays are strongly opposed by many employers, however.
   In the province of Nova Scotia, due to a relative lack of days off, there has been debate over the introduction of a statutory holiday in the month of February. However, no action has been taken so far.

Other observances

Commonwealth Day on the second Monday in March. This has been observed as a holiday in some Commonwealth countries.

Earth Day on April 22

National Aboriginal Solidarity Day on June 21

Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6

Mother's Day on 2nd Sunday of May

Father's Day on 3rd Sunday of June Further Information

Get more info on 'Public Holidays In Canada'.

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