Canadian Statutory Holidays

It seems like the next holiday is so far away. What are the holidays in Canada anyway?

Statutory holidays are New Year's Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day - these days are celebrated nationwide and are paid day off for employees. In addition to these Canadian statutory holidays businesses may choose to close on other holidays but they are not required to do so. Confused yet?

The next nationwide statutory holiday in Canada is Saturday, April 2, Good Friday

There are 5 nationwide and 4 provincial holidays in BC plus Easter Monday, which is a bank holiday and commemorated by federal employees.

The four provincial holidays are Victoria Day, British Columbia Day, Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day.

Boxing day is not an official holiday in BC but Remembrance Day is. Family day is also not a statutory holiday in BC.

Generally banks, municipal libraries, schools and some businesses will be closed on public holidays, however most entertainment venues, shops, grocery stores and tourist attractions remain open. Special events may also be held on these days in celebration or commemoration of the occasion.

BC Holidays for 2011 number nine. These nine stat holidays in British Columbia entitle most employees to a day off with pay.

* New Year's Day - Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011
* Good Friday - Friday, April 22, 2011
* Victoria Day - Monday, May 23, 2011
* Canada Day - Friday, July 1, 2011*
* B.C. Day - Monday, August 1, 2011
* Labour Day - Monday, September 5, 2011
* Thanksgiving - Monday, October 10, 2011
* Remembrance Day - Friday, November 11, 2011
* Christmas Day - Sunday, December 25, 2011

About Victoria Day

Held the Monday preceding May 25 each year, the Sovereign’s birthday has been observed in Canada since Queen Victoria’s (1837-1901) reign in honour of both Queen Victoria and the current sovereign’s birthday. Canada remains a voluntary member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

About Canada Day

Canada Day is a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of July 1 1867 enactment uniting Canada as a single country known as the Canadian Confederation. Many events are observed throughout Canada with no shortage of fun things to see and do to cap the day off in celebration of the ‘birth’ of Canada. In Vancouver, street festivals, parades and sporting events are held in many communities including Granville Island, Yaletown, Surrey, and in Canada Place. The
Canadian flag is proudly sported publically from homes, businesses and communities alike.

About British Columbia Day

Introduced in 1974 to honour the pioneers of BC and in celebration of achievements as Canadians in this province, many people have a day off work. This popular long weekend is often used to go camping or taking short trips out of town to enjoy the beauty of BC in summer. Various celebrations are held province-wide with events including fireworks, parades and cultural festivals.

Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Father's Day and Halloween are not official holidays but are celebrated nationwide, however, no paid vacation is given for these days.

On unofficial holidays - especially on Boxing Day and Remembrance day - most businesses are closed with the exception of select retail stores.

Every statutory holiday has some must-do activities. On New Year's Day you should either be on a cruise ship drinking champaign or have a snowball fight and party with your friends while on Canada Day its customary to rent a cottage if you don't have your own and travel "up north" for the long weekend.

Victoria Day marks the unofficial start of the summer and that's when people usually pull out the bbq from the garage and keep it on the deck until Labour Day, which is the unofficial end of the summer. Many travel agencies and parks have special family weekend getaway packages for the long weekends for those who prefer to spend the days hiking, camping, birdwatching, canoeing, etc.

Holiday Destinations

The majority of people travel during their time off from work. Popular travel destinations for Canadians include Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and select European countries like France and Italy - it all depends of the season. During the winter people fly south to spend some time in hotels and beaches in Florida, Hawaii or Costa Rica for example, indeed a great alternative to snow shoveling.

In the summer there are countless travel deals to Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan and other not-so-warm countries and because of the relatively strong Canadian dollar it doesn't cost too much to rent a car and stay at nice hotels abroad. Well, except in the UK that is.