Canada Statutory Holiday Pay Calculator

Statutory holiday rules are confusing because both the number of holidays and the pay formula depend on the province. This calculator estimates the pay owed for one general holiday and the yearly total across all the paid holidays your province recognizes.

What the statutory holiday pay calculator does

Enter your wages over a reference period, the days you worked in it and your province. The tool returns your pay for one statutory holiday, the number of paid holidays in your province and the annual total. It is most useful for workers with variable hours, whose holiday pay is hardest to work out.

How the calculation works

Provincial formulas all aim at the value of an average working day, expressed as wages in the four weeks before the holiday divided by twenty, wages in the previous month divided by days worked, or a percentage of recent wages. Where the law takes 5% of four weeks’ wages (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan), the calculator uses that share. Elsewhere it divides your wages by the days worked. The result is your pay for one holiday; times your province’s number of paid holidays, it gives the annual total. The holiday count comes from maintained data.

A worked example

$4,000 of wages over 20 days in Ontario gives $200 for each holiday, 5% of $4,000. Ontario recognizes nine paid holidays, so the annual total is $1,800.

$3,000 over 15 days in British Columbia also gives $200 a day. British Columbia recognizes eleven paid holidays, so the yearly total is $2,200. In Nova Scotia, with six paid holidays, the same $200 a day is worth $1,200 a year. The bar chart shows the per-holiday figure beside the annual total.

Why the province matters

Paid general holidays range from six in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to eleven in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, with nine in Ontario and Alberta. At the same daily wage the yearly value differs noticeably, so two colleagues doing the same job in different provinces can be owed different amounts.

The averaging formula mainly affects people with irregular hours. On steady full-time hours, holiday pay is close to a normal day’s pay. For part-time or variable hours, the reference period smooths out the swings, so enter a representative one.

Prince Edward Island’s current Act lists eight paid holidays, New Year’s Day, Islander Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day, and pays 5% of the wages, excluding overtime, earned in the four weeks before the holiday.

Federally regulated employees, in banking, telecommunications, interprovincial transport and similar sectors, are covered by the Canada Labour Code, administered by the federal Labour Program.

Using the result

Use the per-holiday figure to check that a holiday appears correctly on your pay cheque, and the annual figure to see what paid holidays are worth over a year. If you work on a statutory holiday you are generally owed holiday pay plus a premium for the hours worked, often time and a half, so your entitlement for a worked holiday is higher than shown.

Common mistakes and planning tips

• Assuming you do not qualify. Many casual and part-time workers are entitled once they meet the province’s conditions, which often include working the scheduled shifts before and after the holiday.
• Forgetting the premium for working on the holiday.
• Not checking final pay. Holiday amounts owed when you leave a job should appear on your final pay and the Record of Employment.

Keep your own record of wages and days worked; if there is a dispute, your provincial employment standards office enforces the entitlement.

Assumptions and limits

The calculator uses 5% of recent wages in the provinces with that rule and wages divided by days worked elsewhere, times the provincial holiday count. It does not apply every province’s exact reference period, the qualifying conditions, premium pay for working a holiday, or tax, and it assumes the period you enter is representative. Holiday counts and averaging rules change, so confirm the details for your workplace with your provincial employment standards office or, for federally regulated work, the Labour Program.

This is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Tool: Statutory Holiday Pay Calculator Canada

Statutory holiday pay calculator Canada: use this tool to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.