2021 Canadian Statutory Holidays
On this page you will find general information and details about holidays in Canada for 2021.
A new federal statutory holiday for 2021 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to be observed on September 30 by all federally regulated employees.
Canada Day will be on Thursday so this year you can simply take one day off to make it a four day long weekend!
Easter in 2021 is on April 2 (Good Friday) and Easter Sunday is on April 4 - approximately halfway between Family Day and Victoria Day.
Remembrance Day will be on a Thursday and we expect, as in previous years, a heated debate in the comments section over the official holiday status of this day.
Christmas in 2021 is a weekend: Christmas day on a Saturday and Boxing Day following on Sunday. Be sure to check with your employer what days you'll have off. See our when Christmas is on a weekend page for more details and discussion.
Although not an official holiday, Halloween is a popular celebration and this year it's on a Sunday so parents don't have to rush home early from work to be on time for trick or treating.
List of Canadian holidays in 2021
| Holiday | Date in 2021 | Observance |
| New Year's Day | January 1, Friday | National |
| Islander Day | February 15, Monday | PEI |
| Louis Riel Day | February 15, Monday | MB |
| Heritage Day | February 15, Monday | NS |
| Family Day | February 15, Monday | BC, AB, SK, ON, NB |
| Valentine's Day | February 14, Sunday | Not a stat holiday |
| Leap Day | - | - |
| St. Patrick's Day | March 17, Wednesday | Not a stat holiday |
| Good Friday | April 2, Friday | National except QC |
| Easter Monday | April 5, Monday | QC |
| Mother's Day | May 9, Sunday | Not a stat holiday |
| Victoria Day | May 24, Monday | National except NB, NS, NL |
| Father's Day | June 20, Sunday | Not a stat holiday |
| Aboriginal Day | June 21, Monday | NWT |
| St. Jean Baptiste Day | June 24, Thursday | QC |
| Canada Day | July 1, Thursday | National |
| Civic Holiday | August 2, Monday | AB, BC, SK, ON, NB, NU |
| Labour Day | September 6, Monday | National |
| National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | September 30, Thursday | National |
| Thanksgiving | October 11, Monday | National except NB, NS, NL |
| Halloween | October 31, Sunday | Not a holiday |
| Remembrance Day | November 11, Thursday | National except MB, ON, QC, NS |
| Christmas Day | December 25, Saturday | National |
| Boxing Day | December 26, Sunday | ON |
2021 is not a leap year.
Most school boards in 2021 will start the schoolyear on September 7, a day after Labour Day.
Daylight saving time in 2021 starts on Sunday, March 14 and ends on Sunday, November 7.
Simpler holiday rules?
Do you find the provincial exceptions too complicated to remember? How you would change Canada's convoluted holiday system?
Send in your comments, tips and ideas about holidays in Canada for 2021
One holiday every month should be minimum there.
No Holidays, should be fixed Date Holidays, such as Nov 11th, or especially July 1st. It is terrible for co-parenting inviduals, where Parent 1, in year 1, gets July 1st with children on a monday creating the long weekend, while the following year when Parent 2, in Year 2 gets the children, they don't get the long weekend. 1 more vote for all months get the first monday off, save Easter/Good Friday and Xmas.
Kerry: Yes, politics may play a role in the new TRC stat holiday, however to say "Canada does not need nor asked for it" is a pretty blanket statement, and it is not accurate. Through careful consultation and collaboration a number of Indigenous people (whose existence predates Canada) explicitly asked for this national day of recognition in their 94 calls to action; there are many more considerations beyond the economy. Call to Action #80: "We call upon the federal government, in collaboration
with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory
holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to
honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and
ensure that public commemoration of the history and
legacy of residential schools remains a vital component
of the reconciliation process."
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf
This Truth and Reconciliation Day is just the LIberals buying votes. Canada does not need nor asked for another National stat holiday that will just hurt private business in Canada.
Is this new Stat Holiday; National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (sept 30th)
Just a holiday for the Public Servant Employees? or is it for the whole Country to observe?
I believe Remembrance Day should be a national stat holiday. That gives people the time to attend remembrance day ceremonies or even just spend time as a family watching ceremonies either on television if they can't attend in person and spend the day learning about the sacrifices made by these heroes. On Remembrance Day, I sit with my family and watch the Remembrance Day Ceremony and observe the minute of silence. I like spending time watching programs from the History Channel and others to keep reminding me of the sacrifices made, and every year I learn more of what happened in WW1, WW2, Afghanistan, and others that I did not know before. My kids often join me in watching these programs as we keep the horror of those conflicts and sacrifices in mind and pass down to the next generation. Lest We Forget. It seems crazy to me that we have all of these stat holidays for other reasons, and it feels like the importance of this day are seen as not as important as the other stat holidays we observe. Seems shameful in my eyes.
Rememberance day should be holiday for the simple fact of our veterans showed up to the war even on holidays so I think they at least deserve a day to be remembered my great grandfather served and I was lucky enough to meet him absolutely unacceptable to governement will put their lives on the line but won't honour them with a day
I am torn about Remembrance day. While I do believe our veterans do deserve a day to honour them, I fear if it’s a stat holiday the reason behind it will get lost. If kids are in school and are learning about the sacrifices made and they observe the 2minutes of silence I would hope it holds more meaning than just a day off.