Your guide to Ontario’s paid days off in 2025: public holidays and long weekends

For most employees in Canada, the statutory (legally-mandated) holidays they receive will depend on their province or territory of residence.

Federally-regulated employers, which include the federal government and employers in certain sectors, must follow the federal holiday calendar, while all other employers must follow the holiday calendar of their province or territory.

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If you live and work in Ontario, you can expect the following paid holidays in 2025:

That adds up to a total of nine paid days off in the year.

Public holiday entitlement and compensation in Ontario

Employees in Ontario who qualify are entitled to take these days off work and be paid.

If they are required to work on these days, they must

• be compensated with public holiday pay plus premium pay for all hours worked on the public holiday; or
• be paid their regular wages for all hours worked on the public holiday and receive a substitute paid day off.

Commonly observed non-statutory holidays in Ontario

There are several holidays in Ontario that are commonly observed as a day off work but not statutorily mandated at the provincial level.

Some employers may choose to provide paid days off to their employees for these days, while others will not.

These include the following:

Cultural holidays not commonly observed as a day off work

People in Ontario commonly celebrate several cultural holidays, which have activities associated with them, but which are not commonly observed as paid days off work.

If you live in Ontario, you can expect to see people celebrating the following holidays, on which businesses will typically operate as normal:

Many newcomers and native-born Canadians celebrate additional religious and cultural festivals in Canada as well.

*This list is not meant to be comprehensive.

What’s closed in Ontario on statutory holidays?

As employees take time off on statutory holidays, numerous services and businesses across the province remain closed on statutory holidays, while others are open for altered or reduced hours.

This includes the following:

• Government offices (such as Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada): closed
• Banks: closed
• Schools: many observe a break during the last week of December and the first few days of January.
• Municipal services: Closed
• Canada Post: Closed or working reduced hours
• Liquor Board of Ontario (LCBO): While mostly closed on statutory holidays, select outlets may be open on select days.
• Grocery stores: Closed or working reduced hours. Certain convenience stores such as Rabba Fine Foods and pharmacy chains like Shoppers Drug Mart may remain open.
• Non-emergency healthcare services: Some doctor’s offices, pharmacies, dental clinics, etc may be closed or operate under reduced work hours.

In some areas of the world, such as the United States, it is common for most retail stores to be open during major holidays, and residents might plan to go shopping on their day off.

In Ontario, and across the rest of Canada, you can expect the majority of businesses to be closed on statutory holidays.

Which holiday falls on which day?

Some statutory public holidays – like Christmas and New Year’s Day – fall on the same calendar day each year, so they won’t always take place on the same day of the week.

If one of these holidays falls on a non-working day for an employee, such as a weekend, it is typically observed on the next working day (e.g. Monday for a holiday that falls on Saturday or Sunday).

Legislation also allows for the holiday to be observed on the last working day prior to the holiday.

Other holidays are set for a particular day of the week (usually Monday), around a certain time of the month.

Which days are grocery stores typically open or closed in Ontario?

Grocery stores closures are outlined by Ontario’s Retail Business Holidays Act, which dictates that most stores must close on certain holidays.

As a ground rule, here is a look on which days grocery stores might be open or closed.

• New Year’s Day – closed
• Family Day – closed
• Good Friday – closed
• Easter – closed
• Victoria Day – closed
• Canada Day – closed
• Labour Day – closed
• Thanksgiving – closed
• Christmas – closed
• Boxing Day – open

However, stores in some regions (depending on the size and location, like in specific urban areas) may have exemptions. The province of Ontario allows municipalities to enact their own retail holiday bylaws.

In Toronto, for example, businesses located in tourist areas such as Queens Quay West or the Eaton Centre are allowed to remain open.

Which days are restaurants typically open or closed in Ontario?

Restaurants in Ontario are not regulated by the Retail Business Holidays Act.

Accordingly, restaurant operators have the option of continuing to operate during holidays. If they do choose to operate, they must still pay their employees additional holiday pay, or provide their employees with alternate paid time off.

In general, locations of large restaurant chains will choose to remain open on holidays, while smaller local restaurants are more likely to voluntarily observe holiday closures.

Which sectors are federally regulated?

Federally-regulated employers follow federal employment law rather than provincial, so they will also follow federal holidays.

Federally regulated employers include federal civil servants, and employers that provide services typically related to national interests, infrastructure, and services that cross provincial boundaries.

The main federally regulated sectors include

• Transportation (airlines, railways, road, shipping);
• Telecommunications (phone, internet, telegraph and cable companies);
• Banks;
• Crown corporations (like Canada Post);
• Radio and television broadcasting (television and radio networks);
• First Nations and Indigenous Services;
• Uranium mining and processing, and atomic energy; and
• Any business that is vital to the operation of the above companies.

Employees working in these sectors are subject to federal labour laws, including rules about statutory holidays, vacation time, and working conditions.

Employees working for federally regulated employers are entitled to the following days off in 2025:

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