2026 Statutory Holiday Pay in B.C. and Federally Regulated Workplaces: What You Need to Know

All Canadian employers are required to provide statutory holiday pay to eligible employees. However, the rules differ depending on whether an employer is federally or provincially regulated, as well as the nature of the employee’s work and hours. This article provides a practical overview of statutory holidays, eligibility requirements, and how holiday pay is calculated under both B.C. and federal law. 

2026 B.C. and federal statutory holidays

Statutory holidays in British Columbia 

In B.C., employees qualify for statutory holiday pay if they: 

• Have been employed for at least 30 calendar days, and 
• Have worked or earned wages on at least 15 of those 30 days before the holiday. 

B.C. observes 11 statutory holidays in 2026:

1. New Year’s Day  
2. Family Day  
3. Good Friday  
4. Victoria Day  
5. Canada Day  
6. B.C. Day  
7. Labour Day  
8. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation  
9. Thanksgiving Day  
10. Remembrance Day  
11. Christmas Day  

Calculating B.C. statutory holiday pay 

In general, employees who qualify for statutory holiday pay in B.C. can take the day off with an average day’s pay. This average is calculated by dividing the total wages earned in the 30 days before the holiday (including commissions, vacation pay, paid sick leave, and previous statutory holiday pay, but excluding overtime) by the number of days for which wages were earned during that period. This period includes days when the employee received pay but did not actually work, such as paid vacation days, paid statutory holidays, and paid sick leave. 

Exclusions 

Certain categories of workers are excluded from statutory holiday pay under the Employment Standards Act, including: 

• Nursing students  
• Volunteer firefighters  
• Managers
• Farm workers  
• Silviculture (forestry) workers  
• Fishers
• High-tech professionals (software designers and programmers, computer scientists, etc.) 

Commission-based salespeople are also excluded if their commission earnings exceed minimum wage calculations.  

Car and truck sales employees are also excluded but are entitled to 4.4% of gross earnings on each pay cheque in lieu of statutory holidays. 

Federal statutory holidays 

Employees in federally regulated workplaces such as banking, transportation, or telecommunications are subject to the Canada Labour Code (“CLC”). Federally regulated employees are entitled to statutory holiday pay on all national holidays. 

Under the Canada Labour Code, there are 11 statutory holidays for federally regulated employees:

1. New Year’s Day  
2. Good Friday 
3. Easter Monday  
4. Victoria Day  
5. Canada Day  
6. Labour Day  
7. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation  
8. Thanksgiving Day  
9. Remembrance Day  
10. Christmas Day  
11. Boxing Day  

In addition to these 11 holidays, federally regulated employees are entitled to statutory holiday pay on provincial or civic holidays in their region (for example, federal public servants that work in British Columbia would be entitled to paid days off on Family Day and B.C. Day, in addition to the above listed holidays). 

It’s important to note that only full-time employees are entitled to statutory holiday pay. Part-time employees are not paid for stats but are often entitled to a percentage-based premium based on their relative number of working hours per week. These premiums can differ by workplace and are usually set out by a collective bargaining agreement, if applicable, or the terms and conditions of the employment classification under the Code.  

Casual full-time and fixed-term employees in federally regulated industries must work the day immediately before or the day immediately after the stat to be entitled to stat pay. 

Calculating federal statutory holiday pay  

As in provincial statutory holiday pay, federal statutory holiday pay is equal to an average day of work. For most employees, this is calculated as 1/20 of the wages earned in the four weeks immediately before the week of the holiday (excluding overtime). 

For workers who are paid by commission (whether partially or completely), statutory holiday pay is calculated as a minimum of 1/60 of the wages earned in the 12 weeks preceding the holiday week (again, excluding any overtime). 

These formulas reflect the general rules under the Canada Labour Code. Exceptions may apply, including where an employee is required to work on the statutory holiday or where different entitlements or calculation methods are set out in a collective agreement or other applicable regulations. 

Calculating pay when an employee works on a statutory holiday 

Both federally and provincially regulated employees are entitled to extra pay if they work on a statutory holiday. 

In B.C., employees who qualify for statutory holiday pay and work on the holiday are entitled to statutory holiday pay, plus 1.5 times pay up to 12 hours, and double pay for any additional hours beyond that. Employees who do not qualify for statutory holiday pay but work on the holiday are entitled to their regular wages for hours worked. 

Under the Canada Labour Code, federally regulated employees who work on a statutory holiday are entitled to statutory holiday pay plus wages at a rate of at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for the hours worked. 

Substituting statutory holidays 

Both the Canada Labour Code and the B.C. Employment Standards Act allow statutory holidays to be substituted with a different day off. A substitution may occur either where the employer and the affected employee agree, or where the employer and a majority of affected employees agree to the change. In British Columbia, a majority means more than 50% of the affected employees. Under federal legislation, the threshold is at least 70% of affected employees, and employers must also post notice of the substitution at least 30 days before it takes effect. 

Substituting a statutory holiday can be useful where, for example, a stat holiday falls in the middle of the week and one or both parties prefer to have the stat fall on a Monday or Friday, to avoid a mid-week interruption or to extend a weekend. 

If a statutory holiday falls on an employee’s normal day off, the holiday will be moved to the first regular working day following the observed stat. 

Key takeaways for employers 

Statutory holiday entitlements and pay calculations depend on whether a workplace is provincially or federally regulated, and on how employees are classified. Because the rules around eligibility, pay calculations, and working on a statutory holiday are technical and differ by jurisdiction, they are often misunderstood. Taking the time to confirm which rules apply can help avoid confusion and ensure statutory holiday pay is handled correctly. 

If you have any questions about statutory holiday pay or employee entitlements, please contact our team – we’re here to help!