Nova Scotia Statutory Holidays 2026
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: October 7, 2026
The 2026 table for Nova Scotia lists 6 dates: 6 fall on a weekday and none on a weekend. This page's title says statutory holidays, the holidays a statute sets; the Nova Scotia holiday pay guide (novascotia.ca) calls them paid holidays. That leaves 255 working days in 2026. Like the Canada calculator, this page counts Monday to Friday as working days; what changes is the holiday list.
How Nova Scotia differs from the federal Canadian holidays
The Nova Scotia holiday pay guide says the Labour Standards Code gives employees who qualify six paid holidays: New Year's Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day. Against the federal Canadian set that adds Heritage Day and leaves out Victoria Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day and Boxing Day, so a Nova Scotia count drops those five. Remembrance Day has its own law, the Remembrance Day Act, which stops many businesses from operating on 11 November, but it is not a paid holiday under the Code, so it stays out of this count. When a holiday falls on an employee's regular day off, the guide says the employer can give the day off with pay on the working day immediately following the holiday, on the working day immediately following the employee's vacation, or on another day agreed with the employee. It names no single day, so this calendar counts none: a paid holiday on a Saturday or Sunday stays on its own date and no weekday is added for it.
Dates in Nova Scotia's table that the federal table does not have (2026)
- Heritage Day (Monday, February 16)
Dates in the federal table that Nova Scotia's table does not have (2026)
- Victoria Day (Monday, May 18)
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Wednesday, September 30)
- Thanksgiving (Monday, October 12)
- Remembrance Day (Wednesday, November 11)
- Boxing Day (observed) (Monday, December 28)
Nova Scotia paid holiday calendar 2026
| Date | Day | Paid holiday |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day |
| February 16 | Monday | Heritage Day |
| April 3 | Friday | Good Friday |
| July 1 | Wednesday | Canada Day |
| September 7 | Monday | Labour Day |
| December 25 | Friday | Christmas Day |
2026 summary
Total days
365
Weekend days
104
Paid holidays on weekdays
6
Working days
255
After subtracting 104 weekend days and 6 weekday-falling paid holidays, Nova Scotia has 255 working days in 2026. The count on this page uses Nova Scotia's calendar, not the federal set.
Other years
Related links
Documents cited for this province or territory
The holiday list and the explanation above rest on these documents, alongside the holiday data source below.
- Justice Laws Website (Government of Canada): Canada Labour Code, section 166 (general holiday) (opens in a new tab)
Sources and verification
Official source: novascotia.ca (opens in a new tab)
Cross-checked against this source on October 7, 2026.