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Statutory Canadian Holidays
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| Canadian Holidays | calendar date | Explanation |
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
The first day of the New Year is always a holiday |
| Good Friday | The Friday before Easter Sunday The actual date varies every year and is set based on the lunar calendar |
Celebrated by Christians as the day that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. |
| Easter Sunday | set by the lunar calendar and the actual date varies from year to year | This is the day that the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated in the Christian religion. |
| Easter Monday | the Monday following Easter Sunday | not celebrated as a holiday but this day is given as a holiday in lieu of Easter falling on a Sunday which was traditionally a non-working day. It is a statutory holiday for federal workers but not all workers. |
| Victoria Day | Celebrated on the first Monday preceding May 25th. | It marks the day when the Queen's birthday is celebrated even though it is not her actual birthday. |
| Canada Day | July 1 |
Canada celebrates it national birthday. If Canada Day falls on a Sunday it is the next day (Monday) that pays the holiday pay rate to workers not the Sunday. |
| Labor Day | The first Monday in September | Labor Day honors the labor movement and the contribution of workers to the Canadian way of life. |
| Thanksgiving Day | The Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October | The thanksgiving holiday marks the end of the growing season and is the time when thanks is given for the bounty of the harvest. |
| Remembrance Day | November 11 |
The day when the Canadians "remember" the human toll exacted in wars. A red "poppy" marks the day as a result of a famous poem by John McCrae that describes white crosses against the red poppies in Flander's Fields where many Canadian soldiers are buried. |
| Christmas Day | Dec 25th |
Another holiday that has Christian origins. This one celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. |
| Boxing Day | Dec 26 |
Boxing day is listed in the Canadian Labor Code as a holiday. It is a day of family gathering and visiting and has its roots in the British tradition when wealthy landowners packaged up leftover food from the Christmas feast and gave it to the household staff. |
Thanksgiving is both a Canadian holiday and an American holiday. The Canadian Thanksgiving is in October and the American one is in November.
Go from this list of Canadian holidays to the articles on salary information for nurses
Other special days include:
- Valentines day - Feb 14
- Christmas Eve - Dec 24
- New Year's Eve - Dec 31
- Hallowe'en - Oct 31
These are days that Canadians may celebrate with ritual and special food and parties but they are NOT stat Canadian holidays.
Here is How Canadian Statutory Holidays Affect Registered Nurse Salaries
John is a registered nurse and a member of the British Columbia Nurses' Union.
John is not married and has no children so this year he decides to work on Christmas Day Dec 25.
Under the BCNU collective agreement John will receive double his hourly rate for working on the stat holiday.
Additionally John will receive another paid day off because he worked on Christmas day.
Overall John will receive three days pay for working on Dec 25.
You can see how much that might be by looking at the hourly rate for nurse salary in BC.
Current Nursing Shortage
Some provincial health authorities have decreased the number of nursing positions because of funding shortfalls. These are some of the political nuances of nursing in Canada.
The various career sections on health authority websites still show a wide variety of positions, but many of them are not entry level.
This is most likely a temporary situation and all predictions still forcast a nursing shortage for the future.
I will be monitoring this situation over the longer term.
A Canadian visitor says:
Bev:I have read the pages on your site, and just thought you should know, that so far your website has been the most valuable information tool I have found. It is really hard to find the right information. I have just enrolled in a diploma program, RPN, and then I would like to follow through and get my degree.
Thank you again for your time, and for the great site, I am certainly going to pass it along.
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2009
This website is a private commercial enterprise and is owned and operated by Beverly Hansen OMalley.
It is not in any way affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by the government of Canada or any nursing regulatory organization in Canada.
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