Canada has a unique holiday system where public holidays vary significantly between provinces and territories. Whether your team spans from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, understanding which holidays apply where is essential for scheduling, payroll, and avoiding awkward meeting invites on someone's day off.
This guide covers every federal and provincial statutory holiday in Canada for 2026, plus how to automate holiday blocking in your team's Google Calendar with Autolidays.
Federal Statutory Holidays in Canada (2026)
These holidays are observed nationwide across all provinces and territories. Every federally regulated employer must provide these days off.
New Year's Day falls on January 1. Good Friday is April 3. Victoria Day is May 18. Canada Day is July 1. Labour Day is September 7. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is September 30. Thanksgiving is October 13. Remembrance Day is November 11. Christmas Day is December 25.
Provincial Holidays: Key Differences
Each province adds its own statutory holidays on top of the federal ones. This is where things get complicated for multi-province teams.
Ontario
Ontario observes Family Day on the third Monday in February (February 16, 2026) and Civic Holiday (first Monday in August), though the Civic Holiday is not a statutory holiday. Ontario does not observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial statutory holiday.
British Columbia
BC observes Family Day (third Monday in February), British Columbia Day (first Monday in August), and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. BC was the first province to adopt Truth and Reconciliation Day as a statutory holiday.
Quebec
Quebec has its own unique holidays including National Patriots' Day (Monday before May 25), Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24, Quebec's national holiday), and replaces Remembrance Day with its own observances. Easter Monday is also a statutory holiday in Quebec.
Alberta
Alberta observes Family Day (third Monday in February) and Heritage Day (first Monday in August). Alberta also observes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Why Provincial Holiday Differences Matter for Teams
If your company has employees in multiple provinces, you cannot assume everyone has the same days off. A meeting scheduled on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day might work for your Toronto team but not your Montreal office. Similarly, Family Day dates can vary by province.
Getting this wrong leads to payroll errors, compliance issues, and frustrated employees. Manual tracking across 13 provinces and territories is error-prone and time-consuming.
Automate Canadian Holiday Calendar Management
Autolidays automatically blocks public holidays in your Google Calendar based on each team member's province. No more manual lookups, no more missed holidays, no more awkward scheduling conflicts.
Set it up once and every federal and provincial holiday is automatically blocked for each employee based on their location. When someone is in BC, they get BC holidays. When someone is in Quebec, they get Quebec holidays. It just works.
Browse all Canadian holidays on our holidays page and get started with automated holiday blocking today.