Is Family Day a paid holiday in Ontario?
The province of Ontario has nine public holidays that most employees are entitled to: New Year's Day (January 1, 2022) Family Day (February 21, 2022) Good Friday (April 15, 2022)
The following holidays are observed in addition to the national holidays in Canada: Family Day, Victoria Day, Civic Holiday, Thanksgiving and Boxing Day. Remembrance Day is not a statutory holiday in Ontario, making it the most controversial non-stat holiday in the province.
When is Family Day? A provincial statutory holiday observed on the third Monday in February in most provinces. About two-thirds of all Canadians will have the day off on Family Day. Observed in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
Family Day is not a national statutory holiday, it is only observed in New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and in British Columbia.
The statutory holidays in Ontario for 2022 are: New Year's Day: Saturday, January 1, 2022. Family Day: Monday, February 21, 2022.
Regular day of work
If an employee works on Family Day, then the employee is entitled to general holiday pay of an amount that is equal to: at least their average daily wage, and at least 1.5 times their wage rate for each hour worked on that day, or.
Vacation and public holidays
the employer can pay public holiday pay for that day without giving the employee a substitute day off work, if the employee agrees electronically or in writing.
An employee is generally entitled to take all statutory holidays off work and be paid public holiday pay. Most employees qualify for stat holiday pay if their workplace is covered by the Ontario Employment Standards Act and they meet the requirements of 'the first and last rule'.
Most employees are entitled to Public Holiday pay. Public holiday pay would be calculated by adding up the number of hours your employee has worked in the 4 work weeks prior to the holiday(including vacation pay but not overtime) from the last and divide that by 20.
Generally, employees who don't qualify for public holiday entitlements must work on the public holiday if asked by their employer. Most non-qualified employees are entitled to be paid one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for each hour worked on public holidays. There is no substitute day off.
Do federally regulated employees get Family Day off?
This is because federally regulated employees are covered by the Canada Labour Code instead of provincial employment standards and the Canada Labour Code does not provide for Family Day or BC Day. Nevertheless, federally regulated employers may choose to recognize Family Day and/or BC Day as a paid or unpaid time off.
If an employee is entitled to receive premium pay for work on a public holiday, they must be paid 1½ times their regular rate of pay for each hour worked.

On October 12, 2007, the provincial government established Family Day on the third Monday in February, to be first observed on February 18, 2008. Its creation raised Ontario's number of statutory holidays to nine per year.
- New Year's Day (January 1).
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. ...
- Washington's Birthday (Third Monday in February).
- Memorial Day (Last Monday in May).
- Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19).
- Independence Day (July 4).
- Labor Day (First Monday in September).
Employees employed pursuant to federal employment law are not entitled to take “Family Day” as a statutory holiday, because it has not been prescribed as a holiday.
LCBO and Beer Store locations will be closed on Monday along with government offices, banks, and libraries. Most Canada Post locations will remain open but hours may vary. The TTC is running on a holiday schedule but will be operating. Pharmacies, doctor offices and walk-in clinics will remain open as usual.
The federal government established the new statutory holiday in July 2021 commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools in Canada. In 2022, the holiday lands on a Friday.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a statutory holiday for federally regulated industries in Canada, but provinces have jurisdiction over provincially regulated industries, which covers most workplaces. In Ontario, the provincial government has not deemed the day a statutory holiday.
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- New Year's Day.
- Good Friday.
- Victoria Day.
- Canada Day.
- Labour Day.
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (which is observed on September 30)
- Thanksgiving Day.
- Remembrance Day.
What are the paid holiday in Canada?
Federally regulated employees are entitled to ten paid holidays each year. New Years, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Check your employer has refused your request in time
Make sure they know you're taking holiday. If you're right, they have to pay you for the holiday and shouldn't penalise you in any way for taking it - but it could affect your working relationship.
What do I do if my employer has not paid me the right amount of holiday pay? You have the right to bring a claim under the Working Time Regulations or for unlawful deductions from wages i.e. a claim for money you should have been paid, in an employment tribunal.
For employers who do not give their employees the day off, there is no obligation to pay public holiday pay on August 1 – business continues as usual.
Most Ontario employers will simply recognize the day before or the day after a holiday that falls on a weekend as being the substitute holiday. Ontario law permits the substitute holiday to be observed either before or after the public holiday.