Canada Business Day Calculator
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: October 7, 2026
Calculate business days in Canada with Canadian federal statutory holidays pre-selected. This tool automatically excludes holidays including Canada Day, Victoria Day, Canadian Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Boxing Day, and Christmas. Use it for contract deadlines and payroll periods counted on the federal calendar; where a provincial law or a court rule sets the deadline, check its own calendar and counting rule.
How Canadian Business Days Are Defined
This calculator counts Monday to Friday as business days and excludes the ten general holidays that section 166 of the Canada Labour Code lists. When New Year's Day, Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a non-working Saturday or Sunday, section 193(2) of the Code gives the holiday with pay on the working day immediately preceding or following it. The Code leaves that choice open; this site's data takes the following day in every case, which is this site's choice and not the Code's. Provincial holidays such as Family Day and the civic holidays are not included; the province and territory pages linked above count each one's own list.
Sources for these rules
- Canada Labour Code, s. 166: the ten general holidays (Justice Laws Website)
- Canada Labour Code, s. 193(2): when New Year's Day, Canada Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Sunday or Saturday that is a non-working day, a holiday with pay on the working day immediately preceding or following (Justice Laws Website)
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Canadian Federal Statutory Holidays
The ten days that section 166 of the Canada Labour Code calls general holidays:
- New Year's Day (January 1)
- Good Friday
- Victoria Day (the first Monday immediately preceding May 25)
- Canada Day (July 1)
- Labour Day (1st Monday in September)
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30)
- Thanksgiving Day (section 166 names it without a date; the 2nd Monday in October in this data)
- Remembrance Day (November 11)
- Christmas Day (December 25)
- Boxing Day (December 26)
When July 1 is a Sunday, section 2(2) of the Holidays Act makes July 2 Canada Day. Section 193(2) of the Canada Labour Code gives a holiday with pay on the working day immediately preceding or following New Year's Day, Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day when one falls on a non-working Saturday or Sunday. Of those two days the data lists the following one, the next Monday-to-Friday day that is not already a listed holiday: that is this site's choice, and the Code allows the preceding working day as well. How we determine holidays →
Sources for these rules
- Canada Labour Code, s. 166: the ten general holidays (Justice Laws Website)
- Holidays Act, ss. 2 to 4: Canada Day on 1 July, or 2 July when 1 July is a Sunday; Remembrance Day on 11 November; Victoria Day on the first Monday immediately preceding 25 May; each a legal holiday throughout Canada (Justice Laws Website)
- Interpretation Act, s. 35: the definition of holiday, including the first Monday in September, designated Labour Day, and any day appointed by proclamation as a day of thanksgiving (Justice Laws Website)
- Canada Labour Code, s. 193(2): when New Year's Day, Canada Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a Sunday or Saturday that is a non-working day, a holiday with pay on the working day immediately preceding or following (Justice Laws Website)
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Common Use Cases in Canada
Section 230(1) of the Canada Labour Code measures termination notice in weeks: written notice, wages in lieu of notice, or a combination of the two, for at least the number of weeks subsection (1.1) sets, from two weeks after three consecutive months of continuous employment to eight weeks after eight consecutive years. For time limits, section 26 of the federal Interpretation Act says that where the time limited for doing a thing expires or falls on a holiday, the thing may be done on the next day that is not a holiday. The Canada Revenue Agency states its own rule for personal income tax: the return is due on 30 April for most people, and on 15 June where the filer or their spouse or common-law partner is self-employed, and a balance owing is due on 30 April in both cases. When a due date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday recognized by the CRA, the return is on time if the CRA receives it, or it is postmarked, on or before the next business day. The CRA's list of public holidays includes Easter Monday and a Civic Holiday, neither of which is among the Code's ten general holidays, so this calculator's federal list is not the CRA's list.
Sources for these rules
- Canada Labour Code, s. 230(1) and (1.1): notice of termination in writing, wages in lieu of notice, or any combination of the two, for at least the applicable number of weeks, from two weeks after three consecutive months of continuous employment to eight weeks after eight consecutive years (Justice Laws Website)
- Interpretation Act, s. 26: where the time limited for the doing of a thing expires or falls on a holiday, the thing may be done on the day next following that is not a holiday (Justice Laws Website)
- Personal income tax due dates: April 30 to file and pay, June 15 if self-employed (Canada Revenue Agency)
- Filing due dates for the tax return: April 30 for most people, June 15 where the filer or their spouse or common-law partner carried on a business, a balance owing due April 30; a due date on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday recognized by the CRA moves to the next business day (Canada Revenue Agency)
- Public holidays: the days the CRA recognizes, among them Easter Monday and the Civic Holiday (Canada Revenue Agency)
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Sources and verification
Official source: Employment and Social Development Canada (canada.ca) (opens in a new tab)
Cross-checked against this source on October 7, 2026.
For informational purposes only
This calculator provides general estimates based on business day counting rules. It does not constitute legal advice. Deadlines in legal, regulatory, or contractual matters may be subject to jurisdiction-specific rules, court orders, or statutory exceptions. Always verify critical deadlines with a qualified professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Canadian federal statutory holidays?
When is Canadian Thanksgiving?
Are provincial holidays included?
How many business days are in a Canadian work year?
Is Victoria Day a national holiday in Canada?
Sources for these rules
- Canada Labour Code, s. 166: the ten general holidays (Justice Laws Website)
- Holidays Act, ss. 2 to 4: Canada Day on 1 July, or 2 July when 1 July is a Sunday; Remembrance Day on 11 November; Victoria Day on the first Monday immediately preceding 25 May; each a legal holiday throughout Canada (Justice Laws Website)
- 5 U.S.C. 6103(a): the legal public holidays, among them Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November (U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo))
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Canada business days by month
Working-day counts, calendar grids, and Canadian federal holidays for each of the next 13 months.