Calendar days count every date in sequence. Working days exclude weekends and the holidays or closures included in the selected calendar. Clear days deal with a different question: whether the dates at either end of the period are counted.
Those descriptions explain the calculator options, but the contract, legislation or court rule determines which method applies. Canada does not have one definition of "working day" or "business day" for every purpose.
Start with the wording that sets the period
A period described simply as "ten days" may still need an interpretation rule to explain how it is counted. If the source uses "working days" or "business days", look for a definition of that term. It may identify particular weekends, holidays, locations or office closures.
| Wording | How the dates are counted | What else to check |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar days | Count every consecutive date | Whether the start date counts and whether the final date can move |
| Working days or business days | Exclude the dates named by the applicable definition | Which weekends, holidays, closures and jurisdiction apply |
| Clear days | Leave the required number of complete days between two events | Which dates at the beginning and end are excluded |
A business-day definition based on Toronto bank openings, for example, may not use the same dates as a court registry. An employee's holiday entitlement is also different from the calendar used to calculate a court deadline.
Example: ten days across Canada Day
Start on Monday 29 June 2026 and count forward ten days. Exclude the start date and include the final day. Use Ontario as the selected province and do not add a shutdown period.
| Method | Dates excluded during the count | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 10 calendar days | None | Thursday 9 July 2026 |
| 10 working days | Saturdays, Sundays and Canada Day | Tuesday 14 July 2026 |
The working-day calculation excludes Canada Day on Wednesday 1 July and the four weekend dates within the longer period. As a result, it ends five calendar days later than the calendar-day calculation.
Open the Ontario working-day example. Turn on Calendar days to compare the two results without changing the dates or boundaries.
The example shows how the methods differ. The source of the deadline must still tell you which method to use.
Clear days determine which boundaries count
"Clear days" is not another holiday calendar. It describes the treatment of the events at the beginning and end of a period.
For federal legislation, section 27(1) of the Interpretation Act excludes both event dates when a provision refers to "clear days" or requires "at least" a stated number of days between two events. Where a period between two events is not expressed in clear days, section 27(2) excludes the first event date and includes the second.
Those federal provisions do not define clear days for every Canadian contract or proceeding. A provincial interpretation statute, court rule or the express wording of a contract may apply instead. Once you have read the applicable source, set the boundaries using Include start date and Include deadline date.
Moving the final date is a separate question
A source may count every calendar day but move the deadline if the final date is a holiday. That adjustment is separate from the method used to count the period.
Section 26 of the federal Interpretation Act, for example, allows something to be done on the next day that is not a holiday when the time for doing it expires or falls on a holiday. Other legislation, contracts and court rules may use different wording.
Do not move a calendar-day result just because it falls on a weekend. Apply an end-date adjustment only when the source governing the deadline provides one.
Court rules may change the method
Some Canadian court rules use one method for short periods and another for longer periods. Federal Courts Rule 6 excludes holidays from a period of less than seven days, for example. The federal Interpretation Act supplies the related computation rules.
The Federal Courts Rules also contain a seasonal-recess exclusion for a narrower group of document-filing periods. The calculator presents that exclusion as a separate option. The Federal Court seasonal-recess guide explains when the option is relevant.
Use Court Rules Mode for a supported court profile. For an ordinary calculation based on a contract or other source, use Default Mode, select the applicable holiday calendar and add a closure only if the source requires it.
