Public holidays in Canada
| Public holidays in Canada | |
|---|---|
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| Observed by | Canadians |
| Type | National |
Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
There are five nationwide statutory holidays, and six additional holidays for federal employees. Each of the 13 provinces and territories observes a number of holidays in addition to the nationwide days, but each varies in regard to which are legislated as either statutory, optional, or not at all. Currently, the provinces of Alberta and Prince Edward Island have the most legislated holidays in comparison to other provinces and territories, with 12 days off.
Many public and private employers, as well as school systems, provide additional days off around the end of December, often including at least a full or half-day on December 24 (Christmas Eve) and/or December 31 (New Year's Eve), or in some cases the entire week between Christmas and New Year. While not officially legislated in any capacity, internationally notable cultural holidays such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, Mother's Day, and Father's Day are traditionally observed by Canadians as part of Canadian culture.
A statutory holiday (also known as "stats" or "general" or "public" holiday) in Canada is legislated either through the federal, or a provincial or territorial government. Most workers, public and private, are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. However, some employers may require employees to work on such a holiday, but the employee must either receive a day off in lieu of the holiday or must be paid at a premium rate – usually 1½ (known as "time and a half") or twice (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. Statistics Canada shows an average of 11 paid statutory holidays per year in regard to all firms and corporations operating within the province.
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