Holidays in Canada

[SignalHillHiker]

I'm a telecommuter. I work from a home-based office but most of my coworkers, including my direct manager, are in Toronto. This has made me very aware of the fact that holidays vary across Canada.

Especially with St. Patrick's Day coming up. I get it off. None of my coworkers do.

Newfoundland and Labrador seems to have quite a few. I am often off while my coworkers in ROC are not - although my coworkers in Quebec seem to have even more time off than I do.

So I'm curious, what's the full list of holidays in your province?

This is a list of all official, government holidays in Newfoundland and Labrador, most of which I have off:

New Year's Day - Jan. 1
St. Patrick's Day - March 18
Good Friday - (Christian Calendar)
St. George's Day - April 22
Victoria Day - May 20
Discovery Day - June 24
Memorial Day (Canada Day federally) - July 1
Orangeman's Day - July 15
Labour Day - (First Monday in September)
Thanksgiving Day (Second Monday in October)
Armistice Day (Remembrance Day federally) - Nov. 11
Christmas Day - Dec. 25
Boxing Day - Dec. 26

EDIT: I forgot about Regatta Day. It's the day of the races in St. John's. A civic holiday, not an official, government one - but just about anyone not working in the service industry in St. John's gets it off. It's weather-dependent, in August each year.

EDIT 2: Nevermind, I checked. Regatta Day is an official, government holiday. In addition to the list above, the Province requires all employers to honour one civic holiday per year or provide a day in lieu if no civic holiday exists.

[Dmajackson]

Nova Scotia only has a few stat holidays which is unfortunate but I can understand that essentially shutting down the economy in a place barely holding on is hard even for one day.

Here's the current list

New Year's Day
Viola Desmond Day* (starts in 2015. 3rd Monday of February. *name to change every year to honour different NSians).
Good Friday
Easter Monday (not stat but given off for government/schools)
Victoria Day (3rd Monday of May)
Canada Day
Natal Day (1st Monday of August)
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Remembrance Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day

So this year there is no holiday between January 1st - April 18th (over 100 days!). There is also no holiday in June.

Ending next year, winters here feel very long because there is no holiday, all work weeks are five days (Fridays off don't exist here) from New Years Day to Good Friday, and we spend most days shovelling snowfalls that would cripple most other cities. For those who think NSians have it easy just remember we work the most hours, get paid the least, and spend our freetime digging out of snowfalls.

[lubicon]

Alberta generally has the following although not everyone may get these off:

New Years
Family Day (February). Many people do not have this day off.
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Heritage Day (August)
Labor day
Thanksgiving
Remembrance Day (sometimes given at Christmas by some companies)
Christmas
Boxing Day

That said it's a bit of a crap shoot. Federal employees don't get Family Day, some companies elect to give another day off at Christmas rather than Remembrance Day (which really pisses me off), and if you work for an American company be prepared to come to work, or at least be available on July 1, Family Day, Thanksgiving etc., especially if you are in upper management.

[Acajack]

I find with holiday shopping etc. it's getting more difficult to define what are true holidays and what are not.

Anyway, here are the holidays generally observed in Quebec:

New Year's Day
Good Friday (offices and schools closed, stores generally open)
Easter Monday (more stuff closed than on Good Friday)
Journée des Patriotes which is Victoria Day (3rd Monday of May)
Fête nationale (St-Jean-Baptiste) June 24
Canada Day
Labour Day
Thanksgiving Day
Remembrance Day (schools and stores open, offices and banks closed)
Christmas Day
Boxing Day

Note that in Quebec we do not get the first Monday in August off.

Ontario also now has a Family Day on a Monday in mid-February. Quebec does not have this, plus the federal government does not recognize it (yet) for its employees and so in the Ottawa-Gatineau area all federal offices are open that day, but schools and a bunch of stuff on the Ontario side of the river are closed.

[SignalHillHiker]

We don't have Family Day off either, but if I remember correctly, my coworkers in Toronto were off once recently while I and those of us in Montreal were not? That must've been family day.

EDIT: I love that Quebec and Newfoundland have a holiday on the same day, June 24, celebrating their birth.

[wacko]

Saskatchewan has 10 statutory holidays:

New Year's
Family Day (3rd Monday in February)
Good Friday
Victoria Day
Canada Day
Saskatchewan Day (1st Monday in August)
Labour Day
Thanksgiving
Remembrance Day
Christmas

Out of those holidays though, I would think we could pare them down to just four essential ones to be celebrated Canada-wide: New Year's, Canada Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. A lot of the other holidays seem unneeded and unnecessary to me, although it's certainly nice to have the time off.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I find with holiday shopping etc. it's getting more difficult to define what are true holidays and what are not.

It seems that there are two levels of holidays... the ones where most people are off work or school and most non-essential things are closed (Christmas, New Year's) and the ones where really only government offices seem to be closed (Manitoba's Louis Riel Day in February and Civic Holiday in August).

[matt602]

In Ontario, everyone gets Family Day off. When I worked for the Feds, we had it off. Pointless holiday.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by matt602

In Ontario, everyone gets Family Day off. When I worked for the Feds, we had it off. Pointless holiday.

Really? In Ottawa it certainly is not a day off for federal employees.

[middeljohn]

Back when I was self-employed I used to hate stat holidays, because it's a day I couldn't make any sales.

[esquire]

It never occurred to me that stat holidays could actually bother some people. I kind of like having the day to do things that I want to do, use it as an excuse to go on vacation, or just spend time with loved ones.

[Acajack]

Canada is actually on the low end of the scale when compared to other developed countries and the number of stat holidays. We also rank quite poorly when it comes to annual leave for workers.

[SignalHillHiker]

Agreed.

And, sure, most of us get more vacation than we're legally entitled to get from our employers but not everyone does. We all should, so it has to be a government decision.

[Marty_Mcfly]

I wish the university would allow me to take St. Patrick's Day as a holiday I've never understood which places in the province observe St. Patrick's Day and which don't (excluding federal government employees who don't even get Regatta day off)

[Acajack]

In some parts of New Brunswick August 15 is a holiday for the Fête nationale des Acadiens. The day is marked in other provinces on the east coast as well but it does not really have holiday status like it does in places like Caraquet and Tracadie.

Also St-Jean-Baptiste is marked in many places across Canada but does not have holiday status there either.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

I wish the university would allow me to take St. Patrick's Day as a holiday I've never understood which places in the province observe St. Patrick's Day and which don't (excluding federal government employees who don't even get Regatta day off)

Oh, me either. I've no idea what's open on what days if I need to buy something, etc. It's only through word of mouth ("Make sure you buys any groceries you needs the week!") that I know if things will be closed.

But I do manage to get just about all of those off except Orangeman's Day. I may not be Catholic anymore, but I still disapprove of that being a holiday here.

[middeljohn]

Originally Posted by esquire

It never occurred to me that stat holidays could actually bother some people. I kind of like having the day to do things that I want to do, use it as an excuse to go on vacation, or just spend time with loved ones.

Ha, well my client base were all businesses, so when they were shut down then I was effectively shut down. The holiday season was always a huge pain in the ass and I had to save some money months ahead of time to make sure I could make it through a month of little-to-no income.

Now that I'm back in employment land I enjoy my holidays though.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh, me either. I've no idea what's open on what days if I need to buy something, etc. It's only through word of mouth ("Make sure you buys any groceries you needs the week!") that I know if things will be closed.

But I do manage to get just about all of those off except Orangeman's Day. I may not be Catholic anymore, but I still disapprove of that being a holiday here.

That's funny, Orangeman's Day is a university holiday. I see MUN pledges alliance with the pesky Protestants

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

It never occurred to me that stat holidays could actually bother some people. I kind of like having the day to do things that I want to do, use it as an excuse to go on vacation, or just spend time with loved ones.

Family Day is at a busy time of year at work, the weather is terrible, no one wants to go away very much and so it's more of an annoyance than anything. The feds do not get it off so it's the one day of the year that I'm actually home when the mail comes.

[eternallyme]

I think that should Quebec decide to observe the February holiday, whether called Jour de la Famille or whatever else, that would force the federal government's hand there. Are any parties in Quebec proposing such?