Canada Statutory Holidays 2028

Canada does not have a single national holiday list. The federal government sets statutory ("general") holidays under the Canada Labour Code, which apply to federally regulated industries such as banks, airlines, telecoms and the public service — nationwide. Everyone else follows the employment standards of their province or territory.

This is why the "number of stat holidays" depends on where you work. Some federal holidays — Remembrance Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Boxing Day — are not statutory holidays in every province. Provincial rules on substitution also differ, so the Monday dates below are the federal position; your provincial employer may handle a Saturday holiday differently.

Section 193(2) of the Canada Labour Code singles out six holidays for special treatment: New Year’s Day, Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. When one of these falls on a Saturday or Sunday that is not a scheduled work day, the employee must be granted a holiday with pay on the working day immediately before or after — in practice almost always the following Monday.

2028 triggers this rule four times — the maximum realistically possible in a single year, since Christmas and Boxing Day are the only other candidates and both land on weekdays. New Year’s Day moves to Monday January 3, Canada Day to Monday July 3, Truth and Reconciliation to Monday October 2 and Remembrance Day to Monday November 13. The result is nine three-day weekends plus a four-day Christmas break.

For the four other general holidays — Good Friday, Victoria Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving — section 193(1) applies instead: if they fall on a non-working day, the employee gets a paid day at another time, which may be added to annual vacation or taken at a mutually convenient date. In 2028 all four already fall on weekdays, so the question does not arise.

Family Day is a provincial holiday on the third Monday of February (Feb 21, 2028) in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and New Brunswick; Manitoba calls it Louis Riel Day, Nova Scotia calls it Heritage Day and PEI calls it Islander Day. Quebec’s National Holiday (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) is June 24, which falls on a Saturday in 2028.

The Civic Holiday on the first Monday of August (Aug 7, 2028) is observed in most provinces under local names — British Columbia Day, Terry Fox Day (Manitoba), Natal Day (Nova Scotia), New Brunswick Day, Saskatchewan Day, Heritage Day (Alberta) — or simply as the August long weekend. It is not a statutory holiday everywhere. Always check the rules for your province or territory.