Canada Working Days 2026: Federal and Ontario
Compare Ontario and federal working-day totals for 2026. Choose a province or territory to see its monthly figures, holidays and annual total.
Working days here leave out weekends and the statutory holidays that apply to the selected jurisdiction. Sector-specific closures, such as Quebec construction shutdowns, and bespoke company shutdowns are not deducted.
251 business days
in 2026: Federal (Canada)
March, June and July have the most business days (22); February, May, September and November have the fewest (20). September and December each lose two business days to statutory holidays. The longest run without a statutory holiday is 65 business days, from Friday 2 January to Thursday 2 April.
Business dayWeekendStatutory holiday on a weekday
| Month | Business days | Statutory holidays | Weekend days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026New Year's Day | 21 | 1 | 9 |
| February 2026 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 22 | 0 | 9 |
| April 2026Good Friday | 21 | 1 | 8 |
| May 2026Victoria Day | 20 | 1 | 10 |
| June 2026 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| July 2026Canada Day | 22 | 1 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 21 | 0 | 10 |
| September 2026Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | 20 | 2 | 8 |
| October 2026Thanksgiving Day | 21 | 1 | 9 |
| November 2026Remembrance Day | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| December 2026Christmas Day, Boxing Day (observed) | 21 | 2 | 8 |
| Total | 251 | 10 | 104 |
Long weekends in 2026
| Dates | Holiday | Days off |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 3 – Sunday 5 April | Good Friday | 3 |
| Saturday 16 – Monday 18 May | Victoria Day | 3 |
| Saturday 5 – Monday 7 September | Labour Day | 3 |
| Saturday 10 – Monday 12 October | Thanksgiving Day | 3 |
| Friday 25 – Monday 28 December | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (observed) | 4 |
Disrupted weeks in 2026
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | New Year's Day |
| Wednesday 1 July 2026 | Canada Day |
| Wednesday 30 September 2026 | National Day for Truth and Reconciliation |
| Wednesday 11 November 2026 | Remembrance Day |
Ontario working days in 2026
There are 253 working days in Ontario in 2026, compared with 251 under Canada's federal holiday calendar. Both counts exclude Saturdays and Sundays.
| Month | Ontario | Federal |
|---|---|---|
| January | 21 | 21 |
| February | 19 | 20 |
| March | 22 | 22 |
| April | 21 | 21 |
| May | 20 | 20 |
| June | 22 | 22 |
| July | 22 | 22 |
| August | 21 | 21 |
| September | 21 | 20 |
| October | 21 | 21 |
| November | 21 | 20 |
| December | 22 | 21 |
| Year total | 253 | 251 |
Why the counts differ
Ontario uses the nine public holidays in its Employment Standards Act. Civic Holiday, Remembrance Day and September 30 count as working days in this calendar. The federal calendar uses a different set of holidays.
These figures use the calculator's standard holiday calendars. Employer closures and individually arranged substitute days are not included. Choose Ontario in the jurisdiction control for its monthly breakdown.
Why provincial working-day totals differ
The default summary is federal, not a blended Canadian total. Choose a province or territory to calculate with that jurisdiction's configured holiday profile.
Ontario working days
Ontario includes Family Day and Boxing Day, while Remembrance Day and September 30 are not Ontario ESA public holidays. Compare its monthly totals in the table above.
Quebec working days
Quebec uses National Patriots' Day and its June 24 holiday, and does not use the same February or Boxing Day profile as Ontario. Select Quebec for its totals.
British Columbia working days
British Columbia includes Family Day and September 30 in its provincial profile. Select British Columbia to see how those holidays change the monthly count.
How to use Canadian working day totals in planning
Canadian working-day totals differ across provinces because statutory holiday sets are not identical nationwide. Those differences matter when SLAs, customer commitments, or contractual response windows are measured in business days. Year summaries provide a comparable baseline across jurisdictions, so teams can plan with fewer assumptions and clearer auditability.
Finance teams use annual working-day counts for day-rate cost forecasts and invoice cadence planning. Legal teams use them to estimate practical lead times for multi-step processes and notice periods. Project managers can identify lower-capacity months and rebalance sprint scope before delivery pressure accumulates. Including substitute observance effects keeps annual totals reliable when weekend holiday movement changes weekday availability.
Sector-specific closures are separate from these statutory-holiday totals. For project scheduling, check the 2026 Quebec construction shutdown dates before relying on Quebec monthly totals.
Frequently asked questions
How are working days calculated in this summary?
Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and the statutory holidays that apply to your selected jurisdiction. The Federal option uses the federally regulated holiday calendar; provincial and territorial selections use that jurisdiction's supported holiday set.
Which public holidays are included?
The summary includes the federal holidays and the provincial or territorial holidays supported by the Canada Working Day Calculator. That means Family Day variants, Quebec-specific holidays, Yukon Heritage Day, Nunavut Day, and similar local observances appear only when they apply.
Why is there no all-Canada option?
Canada does not have one uniform working-day calendar. Provinces and territories apply different statutory holidays, so a single all-Canada total would be misleading. Use the Federal option when you need the federally regulated baseline.
What can I do with the long weekend and disrupted week data?
Long weekends help with staffing, leave planning, and campaign timing. Disrupted weeks highlight periods where a mid-week holiday compresses turnaround times, payroll cycles, or service commitments.
Does this include optional shutdown periods?
No. Sector-specific closures such as Quebec construction shutdowns or bespoke company shutdowns are not applied in the year summary. Use the calculator or wallplanner when you need those extra exclusions.