Thanksgiving stat holiday info your biz needs to know

While we’re all thankful for different things at this time of year, we can likely agree that “support from the folks who care” is high on each of our lists! Payworks is pleased to help guide Canadian businesses all year long when it comes to workforce management and statutory holidays. And of course, this Thanksgiving is no exception.

What is Thanksgiving?

In Canada, Thanksgiving takes place each year on the second Monday in October. It’s a federally-regulated statutory holiday, as well as a statutory holiday in nine jurisdictions across the country: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. This means that there are four provinces which don’t recognize Thanksgiving as a statutory holiday: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia (however, retail business are an exception in Nova Scotia – more on that below!).

Like all statutory holidays, there’s specific banking and payroll legislation surrounding Thanksgiving. In addition to navigating which provinces and territories observe the statutory holiday, the parameters for employee eligibility and holiday pay can also differ. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the legislation for Thanksgiving by province and territory…

Federal

Thanksgiving is a federal statutory holiday for the federal government and federally-regulated workplaces. It’s important for Canadian employers to be aware of this as it can possibly impact and change both their payroll processing and pay dates, regardless of the jurisdiction in which their business is located. This is because Payments Canada, the organization responsible for payment clearing and settlement, is federally regulated and as such observes Thanksgiving.

For a list of federally-regulated workplaces, visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/workplace/federally-regulated-industries.html.

British Columbia (BC)

Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in BC. Eligible employees receive statutory pay whether they work or not. For more info on statutory holidays in the province, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/statutory-holidays.

Alberta

Thanksgiving is a general holiday in the Province of Alberta. Eligible employees are to be paid for working on or in lieu of this day. For more info on general holidays in Alberta, visit: https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-general-holidays#jumplinks-2.

Saskatchewan

Thanksgiving is a public holiday in Saskatchewan. Eligible employees can receive the day off with pay; otherwise, businesses can remain open with employees receiving pay for working a public holiday. For more info on public holidays in Saskatchewan, visit: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/employment-standards/public-statutory-holidays/list-of-saskatchewan-public-holidays.

Manitoba

Thanksgiving is a general holiday in Manitoba. Generally, most employees receive general holiday pay whether they’re working or not. For more info on general holidays in Manitoba, visit: https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/doc,gen-holidays-after-april-30-07,factsheet.html#q12.

Ontario

Thanksgiving is a public holiday in Ontario. Eligible employees will generally receive the day off and be paid public holiday pay. For more info on public holidays in Ontario, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/public-holidays.

Québec

Thanksgiving is a paid statutory holiday in Québec. Eligible employees are to receive the day off and an indemnity. For more info on statutory holidays in the province, visit: https://www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca/en/working-conditions/leave/statutory-holidays/list-paid-statutory-holidays.

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)

Thanksgiving is not a public holiday in NL. For more info on public holidays in the province, visit: https://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/Publications_Labour_Relations_At_Work_Updates_October-2022.pdf.

New Brunswick (NB)

Thanksgiving is not a paid public holiday in NB. For more info on paid public holidays in the province, visit: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/petl-epft/PDF/es/FactSheets/PublicHolidaysVacation.pdf.

Nova Scotia

Thanksgiving is not a paid holiday in Nova Scotia, but is designated as a retail closing day in the province. According to the province’s website, “some retail businesses are not allowed to open on certain days of the year” (one of those being Thanksgiving). For more info on paid holidays in Nova Scotia, visit: https://novascotia.ca/lae/employmentrights/holidaychart.asp.

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Thanksgiving is not a paid holiday in PEI. For more info on paid holidays in the province, visit: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/workforce-advanced-learning-and-population/paid-holidays.

Yukon

Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in the Yukon. Eligible employees receive a day off with holiday pay. For more info on statutory holidays in the Yukon, visit: https://yukon.ca/en/find-yukon-statutory-holiday.

Northwest Territories

Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories. For more info on statutory holidays in the territory, visit: https://my.hr.gov.nt.ca/employees/leave-time/statutory-holidays.

Nunavut

Thanksgiving is a general holiday in Nunavut. For more info on the territory’s general holidays, visit: https://www.nu-lsco.ca/faq-s.

Navigating the complexities of payroll legislation in Canada can be time consuming! For consolidated information to help your business stay confident and compliant, download a free copy of our Payroll Guide. It includes information on federal and provincial holidays, bank closures, and so much more: https://www.payworks.ca/landing-pages/campaigns/payroll-guide.