Ontario has nine state holidays in 2026, running from New Year’s Day on January 1 to Boxing Day, observed on December 28. Employers must give eligible employees the day off with public holiday pay, or pay premium wages if the person works.
Most people searching stat holidays ontario 2026 want two things: the exact dates, and the pay formula. Both are covered below, along with the rules that trip employers up most often, and a comparison with how other provinces handle the same calendar.
Stat Holidays Ontario 2026 What Are the Dates?
Nine days carry statutory status under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act for 2026. That number hasn’t shifted in years, and there’s no indication it will change soon.
Anyone checking stat holidays ontario 2026 against a payroll calendar is usually trying to confirm one of two things: whether a specific date qualifies, or when the “observed” date lands after a weekend shift.
The Full 2026 List
- New Year’s Day — Thursday, January 1
- Family Day — Monday, February 16
- Good Friday — Friday, April 3
- Victoria Day — Monday, May 18
- Canada Day — Wednesday, July 1
- Labour Day — Monday, September 7
- Thanksgiving Day — Monday, October 12
- Christmas Day — Friday, December 25
- Boxing Day — observed Monday, December 28
We checked these dates against the province’s own public holiday calendar. Boxing Day is the one that trips people up most often. December 26 falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the legal holiday shifts to the following Monday.
In our experience helping small businesses sort out scheduling each year, this shifted date is the single most common source of payroll disputes in late December, usually because someone printed a calendar in November and never checked it again.
Which Days Are Not Official Stat Holidays in Ontario?
This is where most of the confusion sits, and it’s a fair question. Remembrance Day, the August Civic Holiday, and Easter Monday all get treated as state holidays by some employers, but none of them carry legal weight under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.
Only the federal government and federally regulated workplaces, including banks, are required to close for Remembrance Day. A private employer in Hamilton or Ottawa can legally stay open on November 11 without breaking any provincial rule.
Quebec runs on a different list entirely, with Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on June 24 recognized provincially. That’s a useful reminder that stat holidays ontario 2026 rules stop at the provincial border and don’t apply the same way everywhere in Canada.
How Does Ontario Compare to Other Provinces?
Nine state holidays sits roughly in the middle compared with the rest of Canada, and it’s worth knowing where Ontario stands out. Boxing Day is the clearest example: several provinces skip it entirely as a legal requirement, while Ontario treats it as a full statutory day.
A Quick Provincial Snapshot
- Ontario: nine state holidays, including Boxing Day as mandatory.
- Alberta: nine state holidays, but Boxing Day isn’t legally required, though many employers still close.
- British Columbia: closer to ten once National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is factored in provincially, which Ontario has not adopted as a state holiday.
This comparison matters most for companies operating across provincial lines. A head office in Calgary running payroll for an Ontario branch can’t copy one province’s calendar onto the other. Anyone building a national payroll calendar around stat holidays ontario 2026 needs to check each province separately rather than assume the list matches coast to coast.
How Is Public Holiday Pay Calculated in Ontario?
The formula sounds bureaucratic, but it only takes one pass to understand. Take all regular wages earned in the four work weeks immediately before the holiday, add any vacation pay paid out during that stretch, then divide the total by 20.
Say an employee earned $2,400 in regular wages over those four weeks. Divide by 20, and the holiday pay works out to $120, owed regardless of whether they work that day or not.
A Worked Example
- Four-week wages: $2,400
- Divided by: 20
- Public holiday pay owed: $120
Overtime, severance pay, and termination pay never count toward that four-week total. Vacation pay set aside for a future trip is excluded too, unless that particular week happens to fall inside the four-week window used for the calculation. This is one detail payroll software gets wrong more often than people expect, so it’s worth checking manually once a year.
What Happens If You Work on a Stat Holiday in Ontario?
Employees who agree to work get one of two deals under stat holidays ontario 2026 rules, and the choice generally belongs to the employer unless a written agreement says otherwise.
Two Payment Options
- Regular wages for hours worked, plus a substitute day off with public holiday pay, scheduled within three months, or twelve months if there’s a written agreement.
- Public holiday pay plus a premium rate of 1.5 times the regular wage for every hour worked, with no substitute day owed.
Hospitals, hotels, and restaurants can require staff to work without prior agreement, provided the holiday lands on a normal scheduled shift. That rule surprises a lot of first-time restaurant employees in Ontario, who assume they can simply refuse.
Who Qualifies for Stat Holiday Pay in Ontario?
Almost everyone does. Full-time, part-time, casual, and contract staff all qualify, provided they meet what’s usually called the “first and last” condition: working the scheduled shift immediately before the holiday, and the scheduled shift immediately after it.
Miss either shift without a legitimate reason, such as a documented illness, and an employer can legally deny that day’s pay. A small number of roles sit outside these rules entirely, including certain agricultural workers and employees already covered by a collective agreement that offers an equal or better benefit than the Employment Standards Act provides.
New hires qualify too, even with a short work history. Someone who started the job one week before a state holiday is still owed public holiday pay, calculated from whatever wages they’ve actually earned in that shorter period, divided by 20 the same way as everyone else. The payout ends up smaller, but the entitlement doesn’t disappear just because the employment is new.
FAQ Stat Holidays Ontario 2026
Stat Holidays Ontario 2027
Ontario carries nine stat holidays into 2027, starting with New Year’s Day on January 1 and closing with Boxing Day, observed on December 27 since the actual date lands on a Sunday.
Stat Holidays Canada 2026
Canada recognizes twelve federal statutory holidays in 2026, though every province and territory layers its own provincial holidays on top, so the real list shifts depending on where you work.
Stat Holidays 2026
Across the country, 2026 brings a familiar rhythm of statutory holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day with a few extra dates depending on your region.
Stat Holidays Ontario 2026 August
August brings only the Civic Holiday on August 3, and it stays optional in Ontario a quiet, easy long weekend that many families simply enjoy without checking whether it’s technically mandatory.
Stat Holidays Ontario 2026 Calculator
To work out public holiday pay, add your regular wages and vacation pay from the four work weeks before the holiday, then divide by 20 a small formula that saves a lot of payroll confusion.
Civic Holiday 2026
The Civic Holiday falls on Monday, August 3, 2026, and while it feels like a true stat holiday to most people, it’s actually optional, left to each employer’s discretion across Ontario.
What Are the 12 Statutory Holidays in Canada
The twelve federal statutory holidays are New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, the Civic Holiday, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.
Labour Day 2026 Canada
Labour Day lands on Monday, September 7, 2026, closing out summer with one last long weekend and a well-earned day off for workers across Canada.
