Statutory holiday pay: how to calculate it (Ontario and other provinces)
The Ontario public holiday pay formula with a worked example, the BC, Alberta, Quebec and federal rules, and what to pay when someone works the holiday.
8 min read · November 11, 2026
The basic idea
Every province and the federal code give employees a set of paid holidays. On those days an eligible employee gets a day's pay without working, and more if they do work. What changes between provinces is the list of holidays, who qualifies, and how a "day's pay" is worked out. Most use an average of recent earnings rather than the employee's normal daily rate, so part-time and variable-hour employees get a fair share.
Ontario: the ÷ 20 formula
Ontario has nine public holidays: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Public holiday pay is:
(regular wages earned + vacation pay payable) in the four work weeks before the work week with the holiday ÷ 20
"Regular wages" leaves out overtime, vacation pay, earlier public holiday pay and premium pay, which is why vacation pay is added back separately. Employees generally qualify unless they missed, without reasonable cause, their last regularly scheduled day before the holiday or their first one after it.
Example. Victoria Day falls on a Monday. In the four complete work weeks before that week, an employee worked 40 hours a week at $20 an hour, $3,200 in regular wages, and was paid 4% vacation pay on each cheque, $128. Her holiday pay is ($3,200 + $128) ÷ 20 = $166.40. A part-timer who earned $1,200 in those weeks plus $48 vacation pay would get $62.40.
If the holiday falls on a day the employee wouldn't normally work, or during their vacation, they get a substitute day off with holiday pay, or just the holiday pay if they agree in writing.
BC, Alberta, Quebec and federal
| Jurisdiction | Holiday pay | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | An average day's pay: wages earned in the 30 calendar days before the holiday (including vacation pay, excluding overtime) ÷ days worked | Employed 30 calendar days before the holiday and worked or earned wages on 15 of those 30 days |
| Alberta | Average daily wage: wages (no overtime) in the 4 weeks before the holiday ÷ days worked | Worked at least 30 days in the past 12 months; the holiday is a regular workday (worked that weekday at least 5 times in the last 9 weeks) |
| Quebec | 1/20 of wages (no overtime) in the 4 complete weeks of pay before the week of the holiday | Check CNESST's conditions |
| Federal (Canada Labour Code) | 1/20 of wages (no overtime) in the 4 weeks before the week of the holiday; commission employees 1/60 of 12 weeks | Federally regulated employees |
Alberta's own example: an employee who earned $4,000 over 20 days worked in the four weeks gets an average daily wage of $200.
The holiday lists differ too. BC has 11 statutory holidays, including BC Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Remembrance Day. Alberta has nine general holidays, including Remembrance Day but not Boxing Day. Federally regulated employers have ten. For Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Atlantic provinces and the territories, check your province's employment standards site: the formulas there aren't covered here.
When the employee works the holiday
- Ontario: with the employee's written or electronic agreement, either holiday pay plus 1.5 times their regular rate for the hours worked, or regular wages for the hours worked plus a substitute day off with holiday pay. Ontario's guide gives the example of 8 hours at $20: $160 holiday pay plus $240 premium, $400 in total.
- British Columbia: 1.5 times for the first 12 hours, double after that, plus an average day's pay.
- Alberta: 1.5 times for the hours worked plus the average daily wage, or regular pay plus a future day off at the average daily wage. On a day that isn't a regular workday, 1.5 times for the hours worked only.
- Federal: at least 1.5 times the regular rate for the hours worked, plus holiday pay.
Common mistakes
- Paying a normal day's wage. For a full-timer it may come out close, but for variable or part-time hours the averaging formula gives a different number.
- Leaving out vacation pay in Ontario. If you pay 4% on each cheque, that vacation pay goes into the ÷ 20 formula.
- Counting overtime. Overtime pay isn't part of the average in any of these provinces.
- Using another province's list. Remembrance Day is a holiday in Alberta and BC but not in Ontario; Boxing Day is in Ontario but not in Alberta's list.
- Forgetting vacation pay on holiday pay. In Ontario, public holiday pay is part of the wages vacation pay is calculated on.
Holiday pay in AcboBooks
On Run Payroll, Canadian cheques have a Stat holiday pay field. For employees in Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec, and for federally regulated employees, AcboBooks can work it out: pick the holiday from the province's list, and it adds up the wages on the cheques in that province's look-back window, leaves out overtime and non-cash taxable benefits, and divides by 20 (or by the days worked in BC and Alberta, which you can type in). It shows the rule it used. For other provinces, type in the amount your rules give.
Check the result when the window includes a bonus, commission or earlier holiday pay, since your province may not count those as regular wages. The holiday pay goes on the cheque as its own line, and vacation pay set to On every paycheque is calculated on it too.
Frequently asked questions
How is stat holiday pay calculated in Ontario?
Add the regular wages earned and the vacation pay payable in the four work weeks before the work week with the holiday, and divide by 20. Overtime, premium pay and earlier holiday pay are not regular wages.
Does a part-time employee get stat holiday pay in Ontario?
Yes, if they qualify. The formula averages what they actually earned, so a part-timer's holiday pay is smaller in proportion.
Is Remembrance Day a stat holiday?
It depends where. It's a general holiday in Alberta, BC and for federally regulated employers, but not one of Ontario's nine public holidays.
What if the holiday falls on a day the employee doesn't work?
In Ontario they get a substitute day off with holiday pay, or holiday pay alone if they agree in writing. Other provinces have their own rules: Alberta, for example, only pays when the holiday falls on a day the employee would normally work.
Holiday pay worked out from the pays you ran
AcboBooks works out statutory holiday pay for Ontario, BC, Alberta, Quebec and federally regulated employees from the cheques in the province's look-back window.
This article is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and dates change; check the official source or ask your accountant before acting.
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