Holidays and Vacations in Canada
The road to El Canada is filled with surprises. Holidays and vacations in Canada is one such area that people don’t explore. I never did, but it did dawn on me and all those immigrants who took the road to Canada. Do you know that a computer automatically resets once it is overloaded, left on for many days? The reset essentially refreshes the RAM and ensures a smooth rendering of tasks once it restarts. Similarly, humans require a reset too. A human reset is the time off that they take from work, either mandatory (statutory holiday) or voluntary (paid or unpaid time off). Canada has specified certain regulations in regards to human resource well-being via statutory holidays and time-off.
“A study found that Canadians are the Fourth Hardest workers in the World.”
Statutory Holidays in Canada:
Statutory of Stat holidays in Canada are specified by the Government of Canada either federally or provincially. There are certain Stat holidays that are federal which means that all of Canada is off. And then there are provincial holidays that are specific to each of the 13 Provinces or Territories in Canada. These Stat holidays are mandated for the Government offices and institutions but private organizations might have their employees come in on these days. Consequently, these employees who work on stat holidays have to be paid as per the provincial premium pay-rate e.g. Ontario premium pay is 1.5X the salary (pay-rate).
In Canada, these are the Statutory Holidays that are observed. The table below gives you an idea on the Holidays, Observed Day and Observance (National or Provincial) – Courtesy: statutoryholidays.com
| Holiday | Day Observed | Observance (National or Provincial) |
| New Year’s Day | 01-Jan | Nationwide |
| Islander Day | Third Monday in February | PE |
| Family Day | Third Monday in February | BC, AB, SK, ON, NB |
| Heritage Day | Third Monday in February | NS |
| Louis Riel Day | Third Monday in February | MB |
| St. Patrick’s Day | 17-Mar | NL |
| Good Friday | Friday before Easter Sunday | Nationwide except QC |
| Easter Monday | Monday after Easter Sunday | QC |
| St. George’s Day | 23-Apr | NL |
| Victoria Day National Patriotes Day in QC | Monday preceding May 25th | Nationwide except NB, NS, PE, NL |
| National Aboriginal Day | 21-Jun | NT |
| Féte Nationale St. Jean Baptiste Day | 24-Jun | QC |
| Discovery Day | 24-Jun | NL |
| Canada Day Memorial Day in NFL | 01-Jul | Nationwide |
| Nunavut Day | 09-Jul | NT |
| Civic Holiday | First Monday in August | AB, BC, SK, ON, NB, NU |
| Labour Day | First Monday of September | Nationwide |
| Thanksgiving | Second Monday in October | Nationwide except NB, NS, PE, NL |
| Remembrance Day | 11-Nov | Nationwide except ON, QC, NS, NL |
| Christmas Day | 25-Dec | Nationwide |
| Boxing Day | 26-Dec | ON |
Vacations in Canada:
A major part of holidays and vacations in Canada are the days off as vacations for the residents in Canada. According to a statistics, Canadians seems to be working harder than most of the nations across the globe. Being the fourth-hardest working nation in the world is not easy. This all comes down to one other fact, Canadians don’t get enough vacation days in a year.
“On average, Canadians only get 10 paid days of leave within a given year.”
Woah!! I was oblivious of this fact when I moved to Canada as an immigrant. But yes, that is true. This is technically two weeks off including the weekends. I am sorry for breaking your bubble but that is a true fact. On the bright side, you do have quite a few national and provincial holidays to add to this.
There are certain jobs and positions that do provide you with 3 weeks paid leaves. You just need to land a job in those positions. Read on this in Jobs in Canada blog.
For individuals who work on an hourly rate, the vacation pay is added in the hourly rate according to the labor laws in Canada. So, don’t get confused if you don’t see paid vacation days mentioned on your contract. You will see that vacation pay show up in your pay-stubs.
Work vs Family:
The other day, my daughter made a video on her tablet. Talking to her imaginary viewers, she said “My dad comes home from work to work more.” I know where her message was directed. She is 5 and she was right.
There definitely needs to be a balance of work and family time. Since the pandemic hit, most of the people are working from home. This should not be taken as an excuse to not time yourself accordingly, and to balance work and personal life. We need to take out time on a daily basis to ensure the well-being of our family and to give them time. We shouldn’t wait for Holidays and Vacations in Canada to make time for them like Family Day or Good Friday.
End of Year 2020:
The year 2020 has come to an end with almost a few days to go. Guess what, I am taking much needed time off from my work and everything else to spend some quality time with my family and friends. You should do the same. Shut Down and Restart in the New Year. Give your system some time to refresh, cool down and then continue on your journey in the year 2021.
Now don’t break the law and start visiting all your friends in the next few days! Stay home, stay safe and stay virtually connected. I will see you next year with more fun and informative content. Until then….
“Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to you all.”
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