In Canada, a Statutory Holiday (also known as "general" or "public" holiday) is a holiday legislated either through the federal, provincial or territorial governments. Most workers, public or private, are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. However, employers may ask/request employees to work on such a holiday but in this case, must be paid at a premium rate -- usually 1½ (known as "time and a half") or 2 times the regular pay.
The statutory holidays mandated by federal legislation are:
New Year's Day - January 1, also January 2 in Quebec
Good Friday - Friday before Easter Sunday. Observed in all provinces except Quebec where it is only loosely observed
Easter Monday - Monday after Easter Sunday. General holiday in Quebec, loosely observed in other provinces.
Victoria Day - Monday on or before May 24. The Quebec government refers to this as Patriotes Day.
Remembrance Day - November 11. This is a holiday for employees of the federal government. However, for private business, provincial governments and schools, it is not a general holiday in Ontario and Quebec, but in all other provinces it is.
Holiday entitlement for part-time workers is the same as for full-time workers, calculated on a pro rata basis.
Making payments for statutoryholiday entitlement through a system of rolled-up holiday pay is no longer lawful.
The whole of a worker's statutory leave entitlement exists from the beginning of each leave year - but in the first year of their employment you may restrict your workers to accruing leave monthly at the rate of one twelfth of the annual entitlement.
Statutoryholidays are established by Act of Parliament and are observed, without fail, by federal employees and by most Canadians, although increasingly, statutoryholidays are becoming days for shopping and for large sales.
The statutoryholiday began in 1879, almost certainly as an imitation of the American celebration, but earlier in the year as a recognition of the shorter growing season in Canada.
Civic Holiday, variously called Heritage Day in Alberta and Saskatchewan and Simcoe Day in Ontario, is also celebrated in Manitoba and the NWT and gives a long weekend at the beginning of August.
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