Is Easter Monday a Statutory Holiday in Canada?

Easter Monday is not a statutory (paid) holiday under employment standards law in any Canadian jurisdiction researched for this article, except Quebec, where the employer may choose it instead of Good Friday as the province's paid holiday.

Information last verified on 2026-09-24. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This article covers whether Easter Monday is a legally required, paid statutory holiday under provincial, territorial, and federal employment standards law in Canada. It does not cover an employer's voluntary policy of giving Easter Monday off, since that is a matter of contract or company policy rather than a statutory entitlement. For the full national picture on statutory holidays generally, see Statutory Holidays in Canada.

Is Easter Monday a statutory holiday where I work?

Check your jurisdiction below. In every jurisdiction researched except Quebec, Easter Monday is either explicitly stated as not statutory, or simply absent from that jurisdiction's own list of statutory holidays, while Good Friday appears on the list instead.

Quebec's exception: the employer chooses between Good Friday and Easter Monday

Quebec is the one genuine exception among the jurisdictions researched, and it does not work the way a reader might expect. Article 60 of the Loi sur les normes du travail lists Good Friday or Easter Monday, at the employer's choice, as one of the province's 7 statutory holidays under that Act:

"Les jours suivants sont des jours fériés et chômés: 1° le 1er janvier; 2° le Vendredi saint ou le lundi de Pâques, au choix de l’employeur;" (Loi sur les normes du travail, RLRQ c N-1.1, art. 60)

That means an employer in Quebec picks one of the two days as the paid statutory holiday. It is not both days paid, and it is not the employee who decides. An employee who wants to know which of the two applies at their workplace needs to check with their employer directly, since the Act itself leaves the choice to the employer rather than fixing one day for every Quebec workplace.

What "not statutory" means in practice

Outside Quebec's rule above, Easter Monday not being statutory does not mean an employer is forbidden from giving it. Employment standards law sets a floor, not a ceiling. An employer can still choose to give employees Easter Monday off with pay, or treat it as a paid holiday under a collective agreement, as a matter of its own policy.

Alberta's government page makes this general point directly for its own optional holidays: if an employer recognizes an additional day such as Easter Monday as a holiday, the employment standards rules that normally apply to holiday pay then apply to that additional day too. Elsewhere, once an employer voluntarily promises a paid Easter Monday, through a policy, an offer letter, or a collective agreement, that promise becomes a contractual or collective bargaining obligation. What does not exist, in any jurisdiction researched other than Quebec's employer-choice rule, is an employment standards law that requires Easter Monday to be a paid day off. In Alberta, statutory holiday pay rules can attach to it, but only after the employer chooses to recognize it.

An employee who is unsure whether their own workplace treats Easter Monday as paid should check their employment contract, employee handbook, or collective agreement, since that document, not the province's employment standards act, is what would create the entitlement.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about the statutory holiday status of Easter Monday under Canadian provincial, territorial, and federal employment standards law, current as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. It does not address an individual employer's contractual or collective agreement obligations. Consult your employment contract, collective agreement, your jurisdiction's employment standards office, or a lawyer licensed in your province or territory for advice on your specific situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Easter Monday a paid statutory holiday in Canada?

No, not under any provincial, territorial, or federal employment standards law researched for this article, with one exception. In Quebec, the employer may choose Easter Monday instead of Good Friday as one of the province's paid statutory holidays, but only one of the two days is paid, and the choice belongs to the employer, not the employee.

Does my employer have to give me Easter Monday off?

Outside Quebec's employer-choice rule, no employment standards law requires it. Several government sources state this directly, including British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. An employer can still choose to give employees Easter Monday off with pay as a matter of company policy or a collective agreement, but that is a voluntary benefit, not a legal entitlement.

If I work on Easter Monday, am I owed statutory holiday premium pay?

Generally not, since Easter Monday is not a statutory holiday in the jurisdictions researched other than Quebec's employer-choice scenario. The main exception is Alberta: if your employer has chosen to recognize Easter Monday as a holiday, all of Alberta's employment standards rules on holiday pay, including the premium pay or day-off options, apply to it. Elsewhere, if your employer treats Easter Monday as a paid holiday under its own policy, check that policy or your collective agreement for what it promises.

Is Easter Monday treated the same as Good Friday?

No, except in Quebec. Good Friday is a statutory holiday in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and federally regulated employment. Easter Monday is not statutory in any of those jurisdictions. Quebec is the only jurisdiction researched where Easter Monday can be the paid holiday, and only if the employer chooses it over Good Friday.