Ontario guarantees nine paid statutory holidays a year, but only workers covered by the Employment Standards Act qualify for them. The ESA spells out which days qualify and how pay gets calculated—rules specific enough that they’re worth reviewing before the year gets going.

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Number of statutory holidays: 9 · Key 2024 dates start: January 1 (New Year’s Day) · Pay eligibility: ESA-covered employees · Common rule: 3-hour minimum pay · Optional holiday: Easter Monday

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • Verify 2025 dates as the year progresses
  • Check employer-specific policies for optional holidays
Fact Value
Total stat holidays 9
First 2024 holiday Jan 1
Last 2024 holiday Dec 25
Pay basis ESA average daily
3-hour rule Yes for reporting
Civic Holiday status Optional (not statutory)

What days are stat holidays in Ontario in 2024?

Ontario observes nine statutory holidays throughout 2024, starting with New Year’s Day on January 1 and closing with Christmas Day on December 25. Each date follows a fixed rule or a predictable calendar pattern, which makes planning ahead relatively straightforward for both employees and employers.

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day 2024 falls on Monday, January 1. This is the first statutory holiday of the year and applies across all sectors covered by the ESA. According to the Government’s official ESA guide, almost every employee in Ontario is entitled to this day off with public holiday pay, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

Family Day

Family Day 2024 was observed on February 19, the third Monday in February. This Ontario-specific statutory holiday was introduced in 2008 and has become a staple for workers looking to spend time with family during the winter months. Employees should verify with their employer whether Family Day falls under their standard holiday entitlement or requires advance scheduling.

Good Friday

Good Friday 2024 fell on March 29. As a fixed-date religious holiday recognized across Canada, Good Friday is one of the most consistently observed statutory holidays in Ontario. Retail businesses are subject to restrictions on Easter Sunday openings under provincial law, making Good Friday a particularly significant long weekend for the commercial sector.

Victoria Day

Victoria Day 2024 was observed on Monday, May 20. This holiday marks the birthday of Queen Victoria and traditionally signals the start of the summer season in Canada. The date is calculated as the Monday before May 25 each year, which means it shifts between May 18 and May 24. Victoria Day applies universally across Ontario and is one of the most widely recognized statutory holidays in the province.

Canada Day

Canada Day 2024 fell on July 1, a Monday. Being a fixed-date holiday, Canada Day is one of the simplest statutory holidays to track on the calendar. The national celebration often falls on a long weekend, which means many Ontario workers enjoy a three-day break without needing to use vacation days.

The upshot

Ontario workers get nine statutory holidays in 2024, but only the fixed-date ones (New Year’s, Good Friday, Canada Day, Christmas, Boxing Day) can be planned with absolute certainty. Floating holidays like Victoria Day and Family Day shift annually, so checking the exact date early in the year saves confusion later.

What are the 9 statutory holidays in Ontario?

Ontario recognizes nine statutory holidays under the Employment Standards Act: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Each applies to provincially regulated employers, which cover the majority of Ontario’s workforce.

Full list with dates

The nine holidays, in chronological order for 2024: New Year’s Day (January 1), Family Day (February 19), Good Friday (March 29), Victoria Day (May 20), Canada Day (July 1), Labour Day (September 2), Thanksgiving Day (October 14), Christmas Day (December 25), and Boxing Day (December 26). This list comes directly from the Government of Ontario’s official ESA documentation.

Optional vs mandatory

All nine holidays are mandatory for provincially regulated employers. However, two dates commonly mistaken for statutory holidays are actually optional or federal-only. Easter Monday applies only to federally regulated workplaces, while the Civic Holiday on the first Monday in August is not a statutory holiday for provincial employers, though many choose to observe it as a paid day off.

Why this matters

Ontario is the only province in Canada where Boxing Day is a statutory provincial holiday—every other province and territory treats it as optional or observes it through other means. Workers in retail, logistics, and hospitality should confirm their employer’s policy well before December 26 to avoid surprises.

What is a statutory holiday in Canada?

A statutory holiday is a day legislated by provincial or federal government where most employees are entitled to either a day off with pay or premium pay if they work. In Ontario, the rules come from the Employment Standards Act (ESA), which sets the minimum standards that all provincially regulated employers must follow.

Ontario specifics

Under Ontario’s ESA, most employees who qualify receive public holiday pay when they get a statutory holiday off. Employees who work on a statutory holiday must receive premium pay at time-and-a-half plus their regular holiday pay, or regular pay plus a substitute day off with holiday pay. The ESA sets the baseline, meaning employers can offer more generous terms, but never less.

Federal vs provincial

Federally regulated workplaces—banks, telecommunications companies, and federal crown corporations—follow the Canada Labour Code instead of Ontario’s ESA. The federal regime includes Easter Monday and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (observed since September 30, 2021), which are not statutory holidays for provincial workers. This distinction matters for employees moving between sectors or working for national employers with Ontario offices.

What to watch

If you work for a bank, airline, or federal agency in Ontario, your statutory holiday entitlements likely differ from workers at provincial employers. Always confirm which legislation covers your employment, because the holiday list and pay rules are not identical between the two systems.

How many hours do you get paid for a stat holiday in Canada?

Statutory holiday pay in Ontario is calculated based on your average daily wages over the four weeks before the holiday, not a fixed number of hours. Employees entitled to public holiday pay receive a sum equal to their regular day’s pay, calculated as total regular wages earned in the four-week period divided by the number of days worked during that period.

Regular wages

The formula under ESA: public holiday pay equals the total amount of regular wages earned in the four weeks immediately before the public holiday, divided by 20. For a full-time employee on a consistent schedule, this typically works out to a full day’s pay. For part-time or irregular-hour workers, the calculation may result in a lower amount than their usual daily earnings.

Eligibility rules

Most employees qualify for statutory holiday pay under the “first and last rule”: they must have worked their last scheduled day before the holiday and their first scheduled day after the holiday. ESA covers full-time, part-time, permanent, and term contract employees regardless of hire date. However, the rule does not apply to employees who are on an approved unpaid leave surrounding the holiday or who fail to meet the scheduled workday requirement without a valid reason.

The catch

If you took unpaid time off immediately before or after a statutory holiday, you could lose your entitlement to holiday pay even if you normally work a full schedule. Employees with irregular hours or those on probation should double-check their eligibility before assuming a holiday is paid.

What is the 3 hour rule in Canada?

The 3-hour rule in Ontario requires that employees who are required to attend work on a statutory holiday but work fewer than three consecutive hours receive at least three hours of pay at their regular rate, plus any applicable public holiday pay. This protection prevents employers from summoning workers for brief shifts without adequate compensation.

Application to holidays

If an employee is called in on a statutory holiday and works for two hours, the employer must pay for a minimum of three hours at the regular rate, in addition to the public holiday pay entitlement. This applies regardless of whether the three-hour threshold is met through actual hours worked or the statutory minimum. The rule ensures that short-notice call-ins on holidays are not disproportionately burdensome for workers.

ESA details

The 3-hour rule applies only when an employee is required to work on the statutory holiday. Voluntary attendance or optional shift-picking does not trigger the minimum. According to the Government of Ontario’s ESA policy manual, the rule was designed to address situations where retail or hospitality employees were summoned for brief pre-opening preparations on holidays without fair compensation.

The trade-off

For employees working in retail or food service where holiday shifts are common, the 3-hour rule provides meaningful protection. But for salaried professionals or shift workers with guaranteed hours, the rule has limited practical effect because their regular schedule already exceeds three hours on any given workday.

Key dates timeline

Seven holidays and two policy milestones define Ontario’s statutory holiday landscape for 2024.

Date Event
January 1, 2024 New Year’s Day
February 19, 2024 Family Day
March 29, 2024 Good Friday
September 2, 2024 Labour Day
December 25, 2024 Christmas Day
September 30, 2021 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (federal only)
June 3, 2021 Direct deposit geographic restrictions removed

Ontario’s statutory holiday schedule is stable year-to-year for fixed-date holidays but relies on predictable patterns for floating holidays like Victoria Day and Family Day. Two recent policy changes—the addition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for federal workers and the removal of geographic restrictions on direct deposit for wages—demonstrate how the regulatory landscape continues to evolve beneath the fixed holiday list.

What we know and what remains unclear

Confirmed facts

  • Ontario has nine statutory holidays under ESA
  • 2024 dates verified across multiple sources: Jan 1, Feb 19, Mar 29, May 20, Jul 1, Sep 2, Oct 14, Dec 25, Dec 26
  • Boxing Day is Ontario’s unique provincial statutory holiday
  • Civic Holiday is optional, not statutory for provincial employers
  • Employees who meet the first and last rule qualify for holiday pay regardless of employment type

What’s unclear

  • How exact holiday pay calculates for workers with highly irregular schedules beyond the standard 4-week formula
  • Whether non-Toronto municipalities will observe December 28 as a substitute Boxing Day in future years when December 26 falls on a weekend
  • Whether provincial updates to ESA holiday rules will emerge before 2025

What sources say

Ontario has nine public holidays: New Year’s Day; Family Day; Good Friday; Victoria Day; Canada Day; Labour Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day; Boxing Day (December 26).

— Government of Ontario (Your Guide to the Employment Standards Act)

Employees working on these days get either premium pay plus holiday pay or regular pay plus a substitute day off with holiday pay.

— Litespace (2024 Stat Holidays in Ontario: Dates, Pay and Rules)

Ontario is the only province where Boxing Day is a provincial statutory holiday.

— StatutoryHolidays.com (Ontario Holiday Schedule)

Related reading: Canadian employment pay rules

Additional sources

ontario.ca, blaney.com, jobillico.com, achkarlaw.com, canada-holidays.ca, workersactioncentre.org, authentikcanada.com, ontario.ca, toronto.ca

While Ontario’s 2024 statutory holidays total nine days under the ESA, Remembrance Day stat status often confuses workers since most provinces recognize it.

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Frequently asked questions

What are statutory holidays Ontario 2024 dates?

Ontario’s nine statutory holidays in 2024 are: January 1 (New Year’s Day), February 19 (Family Day), March 29 (Good Friday), May 20 (Victoria Day), July 1 (Canada Day), September 2 (Labour Day), October 14 (Thanksgiving Day), December 25 (Christmas Day), and December 26 (Boxing Day).

When is civic holiday 2024 Ontario?

The Civic Holiday falls on the first Monday in August, which in 2024 would be August 5. However, it is not a statutory holiday for provincially regulated employers in Ontario—meaning employers are not legally required to give the day off or pay holiday rates.

Is Easter Monday a stat holiday in Ontario?

No, Easter Monday is not a statutory holiday in Ontario for provincially regulated workers. It is a statutory holiday only for employees covered under the Canada Labour Code, which applies to federally regulated industries such as banking and telecommunications.

Do part-time workers get stat holiday pay?

Yes, part-time workers are entitled to statutory holiday pay under Ontario’s ESA, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. The calculation is based on average daily wages over the preceding four weeks, so part-time workers who have consistent hours can expect a full day’s pay for qualifying holidays.

What happens if you work on a stat holiday?

Employees who work on a statutory holiday in Ontario must receive premium pay at time-and-a-half for hours worked, plus regular public holiday pay. Alternatively, the employer can provide a substitute day off with regular pay plus holiday pay. Workers called in for less than three hours still receive the 3-hour minimum pay guarantee.

What is Family Day in Ontario 2024?

Family Day in Ontario 2024 falls on February 19, the third Monday in February. It is an Ontario-specific statutory holiday introduced in 2008 to provide workers with a mid-winter break. The date shifts each year depending on where the third Monday falls in February.

Who qualifies for statutory holiday pay in Ontario?

Most employees in Ontario qualify for statutory holiday pay if they have worked for their employer and meet the “first and last rule”—having worked their last scheduled day before the holiday and their first scheduled day after. This applies regardless of full-time or part-time status, and ESA covers the employment regardless of citizenship or work permit status. Exemptions exist for specific roles outlined in the ESA documentation.

Ontario workers covered by ESA should remember that while nine statutory holidays are guaranteed by law for most employees, the actual pay received depends on individual work patterns and employer policies. Workers with irregular schedules or uncertain about their eligibility should consult their employer’s policy or contact the Ministry of Labour directly for clarification before relying on any single holiday entitlement.