This Canada business days calculator counts inclusive weekdays between two dates and can remove the statutory holidays for Ontario, British Columbia, or Alberta. The holidays are the current employment-standards lists, not a single federal set. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act public holidays are New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. British Columbia’s statutory holidays add B.C. Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Remembrance Day, and they do not include Boxing Day. Alberta’s nine general holidays include Alberta Family Day and Remembrance Day, and they do not include Boxing Day, Heritage Day, or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Those last days are optional in Alberta, and this page does not remove them.
The sample is 1 January 2026 through 31 December 2026 in Ontario, with holidays excluded. The year has 261 weekdays and 104 weekend days. Eight Ontario holidays fall on a weekday, and Boxing Day falls on Saturday, so it is not removed. The headline is 253 business days. British Columbia removes 11 weekday holidays and shows 250. Alberta removes 9 and shows 252. England and Wales also have 253 working days in 2026, and the United States has 250 business days, but the calendars are not the same list wearing a different name. A Saturday holiday in Canada stays on Saturday on this page, except Alberta’s rule that Canada Day moves to 2 July when 1 July is a Sunday. The United States page moves a Saturday federal holiday to Friday. This page does not.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the start date and the end date. The sample runs from 2026-01-01 through 2026-12-31. Both ends count when they are business days.
- Choose Ontario, British Columbia, or Alberta. The holiday list changes with that choice. There is no blended “Canada” list.
- Choose whether statutory holidays are excluded. “Count every weekday” leaves the holidays in the total.
- Press Calculate. The headline is the weekday count after any holidays that were removed. The lines under it name the weekdays, the weekend days, and the holiday dates inside the span.
How provincial statutory holidays are removed
The span is inclusive. A lone non-holiday weekday is 1 business day. The days-between-dates page does not count that way: from 1 January to 31 December 2026 it shows 364 elapsed days, because it drops one end and keeps the weekends. This page keeps both ends, drops Saturday and Sunday, and then, if you ask, drops a weekday that is on the provincial list. Swapping the two dates does not change the count. The earlier date is treated as the start, and a line says they were reordered.
Most of the dates follow a rule rather than a stored list. Family Day, and Alberta Family Day, are the third Monday in February. Good Friday is two days before Easter Sunday, using the Gregorian computus. Victoria Day is the Monday before 25 May, and when 25 May is itself a Monday the holiday is 18 May. In 2026 that is 18 May. Labour Day is the first Monday in September. Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. B.C. Day is the first Monday in August. Canada Day is 1 July, except in Alberta when 1 July is a Sunday, in which case the general holiday is 2 July. Christmas is 25 December. Boxing Day, Ontario only, is 26 December. Truth and Reconciliation is 30 September. Remembrance Day is 11 November.
A holiday that falls on Saturday or Sunday is listed and then left in the weekend count. It does not reduce the business-day headline, and the province is not given a substitute Monday unless the Alberta Canada Day rule says so. In 2026, Ontario’s Boxing Day is Saturday 26 December, so Ontario removes 8 weekday holidays from 261 weekdays and shows 253. British Columbia’s 11 holidays all fall on weekdays, so the headline is 250. Alberta’s 9 general holidays all fall on weekdays, so the headline is 252. In 2027, Christmas is Saturday. Ontario then removes 7 weekday holidays and shows 254, because both Christmas and Boxing Day are on the weekend. British Columbia shows 251. Alberta shows 253.
The lists are the current statutes applied to whatever year you type. They are not a history of the year each holiday was enacted, and they are not a collective agreement. A federal workplace can observe Easter Monday, which Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta do not require. Quebec’s National Holiday on 24 June is not in these three lists. Civic holidays that an employer chooses to close for, including Heritage Day in Alberta, stay in the count unless you shorten the dates yourself. A span longer than 50 years is refused.
Formula
Inclusive dates. Saturday and Sunday are weekend days. Weekdays = dates in the span whose weekday is Monday through Friday Statutory holidays removed = weekdays that are on the selected province’s list, if you asked to exclude them Business days = weekdays − statutory holidays removed Ontario: New Year’s Day, Family Day (third Monday in February), Good Friday, Victoria Day (Monday before 25 May), Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, Boxing Day British Columbia: Ontario’s list without Boxing Day, plus B.C. Day (first Monday in August), 30 September, and Remembrance Day Alberta: New Year’s Day, Alberta Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day Alberta only: if 1 July is a Sunday, Canada Day is Monday 2 July Other weekend holidays are not moved to Friday or Monday
Calendar year 2026 has 365 dates, 261 weekdays, and 104 weekend days in every province. The business-day gap is only the holiday list. Ontario 253, Alberta 252, and British Columbia 250 differ by Family Day’s neighbours: Alberta adds Remembrance Day to the shared weekday set and does not have a weekday Boxing Day to remove; British Columbia adds B.C. Day, 30 September, and Remembrance Day. England and Wales remove 8 bank holidays and also show 253, but those 8 dates are not Ontario’s 8. The US federal list removes 11 observed weekdays and shows 250, the same count as British Columbia for a different reason. Independence Day 2026 is observed on Friday 3 July on the US page. Canada Day stays on Wednesday 1 July on this page.
In 2029, 1 July is a Sunday. Alberta observes Canada Day on Monday 2 July and removes that Monday. Ontario and British Columbia leave 1 July on Sunday and do not remove 2 July. Ontario 2029 shows 253 business days, with Canada Day named as a weekend holiday that was not removed. Alberta 2029 shows 253 as well, but one of the removed dates is 2 July. British Columbia also shows 253: Canada Day, 30 September, and Remembrance Day all fall on a weekend, so only 8 of its 11 holidays are removed. The three headlines match and the calendars do not. In 2028, a leap year, there are 260 weekdays. Ontario shows 253 business days, British Columbia shows 253, and Alberta shows 254, because several fixed dates fall on weekends.
Worked Canadian business-day examples
Calendar year 2026 in all three provinces
Ontario, holidays excluded, shows 253 business days. Eight weekday holidays are removed: 1 January, 16 February, 3 April, 18 May, 1 July, 7 September, 12 October, and 25 December. Boxing Day, 26 December, is named as a Saturday that was not removed. British Columbia shows 250. The extra weekday dates are 3 August, 30 September, and 11 November. Alberta shows 252. Remembrance Day is removed and Boxing Day is not on the list. Count every weekday instead and all three provinces show 261.
The US business-day page shows 250 for 2026 after 11 observed federal holidays. The UK working-day page shows 253 for England and Wales and 251 for Scotland. Ontario’s 253 is not the England list. British Columbia’s 250 is not the US list. A contract that says “business days” and then names a holiday calendar has to be read. This form only applies the provincial employment-standards list you select.
2027, when Christmas falls on Saturday
Ontario 2027 shows 254 business days. Seven weekday holidays are removed, and both 25 December and 26 December are named as weekend holidays that stay in the weekend count. The weekdays in the year are still 261. British Columbia shows 251, with Christmas on the weekend and 11 November still a Wednesday. Alberta shows 253, with Christmas on the weekend and Remembrance Day still removed.
Good Friday 2027 is 26 March in all three lists, two days before Easter Sunday. Victoria Day is 24 May. Family Day is 15 February. None of those move because Christmas moved. The calculator does not invent a Boxing Day substitute on Monday 27 December for Ontario. If a workplace closes that Monday by policy, shorten the span or subtract the day yourself.
Alberta’s Sunday Canada Day rule in 2029, and a single holiday
Alberta from 1 January 2029 through 31 December 2029 shows 253 business days and names 2 July as “Canada Day, observed 2 July.” Ontario over the same dates also shows 253, and it names 1 July as a Sunday that was not removed. The matching headlines hide a different Monday. British Columbia follows Ontario on Canada Day: 1 July stays on Sunday, and 2 July is an ordinary Monday unless it is some other holiday, which it is not.
A span that is only 1 January 2026 shows 0 business days in every province, because that Thursday is New Year’s Day. A span that is only 2 January 2026 shows 1 business day. The day counter’s elapsed result between those two dates is 1 day as well, but it is counting the gap, not deciding that 1 January was a holiday. Use this page when the question is which weekdays survive the provincial list.
Business days in a full calendar year
| Year | Weekdays | Ontario | British Columbia | Alberta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 261 | 253 | 250 | 252 |
| 2027 | 261 | 254 | 251 | 253 |
| 2028 | 260 | 253 | 253 | 254 |
| 2029 | 261 | 253 | 253 | 253 |
What this Canadian business-day count leaves out
Only three provincial lists are included. Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the territories have their own holidays. A federal employee can be off on Easter Monday and on other days these provinces do not require. Alberta’s optional general holidays, including Easter Monday, Heritage Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Boxing Day, are not removed. If your employer recognizes one of them, the headline is one day high for that year.
The page does not compute public holiday pay, and it does not know whether you qualify for the day off. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta each have eligibility rules, and some jobs are exempt. A holiday that falls during a vacation, a substitute day agreed in writing, and a collective agreement that adds days are outside the count. The result is also not a court deadline and not a CRA payment date. The CRA’s own public-holiday list is a federal administrative list. It is not the Ontario Employment Standards Act list.
Weekend observance is deliberate and narrow. British Columbia’s published 2026 and 2027 statutory-holiday tables list Christmas on the calendar date even when that date is a Saturday. This page does the same, and it does not add the following Monday. Alberta’s published rule moves Canada Day from Sunday to 2 July and does not describe the same move for a Saturday. 2028 Canada Day is a Saturday and is not removed in Alberta. Applying a US-style “observe on Friday” rule would make these counts match the US page for the wrong reason.
Family Day is applied in years before a province enacted it, because the calculator uses the current rule rather than a historical table. A one-off holiday, such as a funeral or a jubilee, is not added. Good Friday depends on the Gregorian Easter calculation. Dates more than 50 years apart are rejected. If the contract’s holiday schedule is attached to the contract, that schedule wins over this list.
Frequently asked questions
How many business days does Ontario have in 2026?
253, after the eight weekday public holidays are removed. The year has 261 weekdays. Boxing Day is Saturday 26 December, so it is not one of the eight. British Columbia has 250 in 2026. Alberta has 252. Count every weekday and all three show 261.
Why is British Columbia’s 2026 total equal to the US business-day total?
Both headlines are 250, and the calendars are different. British Columbia removes 11 statutory weekdays, including Family Day, B.C. Day, and 30 September. The US page removes 11 observed federal holidays and moves Saturday 4 July 2026 to Friday 3 July. Matching totals are not matching days off.
Does this Canada calculator move a Saturday holiday to Friday?
No. A statutory holiday on Saturday or Sunday stays on that weekend and is not removed from the weekday count. The exception is Alberta, and only for Canada Day: when 1 July is a Sunday the holiday is Monday 2 July. In 2029 Alberta removes 2 July. Ontario does not.
Is Boxing Day a statutory holiday in British Columbia and Alberta?
Not on these lists. Ontario removes Boxing Day when 26 December is a weekday. In 2026 it is a Saturday, so Ontario names it and does not subtract it. British Columbia and Alberta do not put Boxing Day on the statutory list at all. An employer that closes anyway is giving a day this page still counts.
Are both the start date and the end date business days if they are weekdays?
They count when they are weekdays and, if you are excluding holidays, when they are not statutory holidays. 1 January 2026 alone is 0 business days. 2 January 2026 alone is 1. The days-between-dates page is an elapsed count, not this inclusive weekday count.
Which provinces can this business-day calculator exclude holidays for?
Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. Quebec’s 24 June and the other provinces’ lists are not included. Optional Alberta holidays are not included either. A span outside a 50-year window is refused. The rules are the current statutes, including Family Day on the third Monday in February, even in a year before that holiday existed.
Related ClearCalc pages
- US business days calculator Inclusive weekdays with US federal holidays removed. Calendar year 2026 is 250 business days, the same count as British Columbia and not the same calendar.
- UK working days calculator England and Wales have 253 working days in 2026, the same count as Ontario and not the same bank holidays.
- Days between two dates Elapsed calendar days, including weekends. 1 January to 31 December 2026 is 364 on that page.
- Ontario take-home pay calculator for 2026 Federal tax, Ontario tax, CPP, and EI. It does not divide a salary by these 253 business days.