Quebec runs its own statutory holiday list, and it differs from the rest of Canada in ways that matter if you work for a Quebec employer or moved from another province. Two holidays exist only here, and three that the rest of the country observes do not apply.
Quebec Statutory Holidays 2027
- Friday, January 1 — Jour de l’An (New Year’s Day)
- Friday, March 26 or Monday, March 29 — Good Friday or Easter Monday. The employer chooses which of the two to give
- Monday, May 24 — Journée nationale des patriotes
- Thursday, June 24 — Fête nationale du Québec (Saint-Jean-Baptiste)
- Thursday, July 1 — Canada Day
- Monday, September 6 — Fête du travail (Labour Day)
- Monday, October 11 — Action de grâce (Thanksgiving)
- Saturday, December 25 — Noël (Christmas Day)
What Quebec Does Differently
Three differences catch people arriving from other provinces:
- Victoria Day does not exist here. The same Monday is the Journée nationale des patriotes, commemorating the 1837–38 rebellions. Same date, entirely different meaning
- Boxing Day is not a statutory holiday. Many retailers open and many employees work. In Ontario it is statutory; cross the border and it is not
- The August Civic Holiday does not apply. There is no first-Monday-in-August holiday in Quebec
Remembrance Day is also not a general statutory holiday under Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards, though federally regulated workplaces in Quebec observe it.
The Easter Choice
This is unique to Quebec: the employer decides whether to give Good Friday or Easter Monday. It is one day, not both. Two people working in the same building for different companies may well have different days off that week.
Federally regulated employees in Quebec — banks, telecoms, interprovincial transport — follow the Canada Labour Code instead and generally receive Good Friday.
Fête Nationale: The One That Is Genuinely Different
June 24 is Quebec’s national holiday and it carries stricter rules than other statutory days. If June 24 falls on a day that is not a working day for an employee, the employer must give either a day off with pay on the working day before or after, or a compensatory indemnity.
In 2027 it falls on a Thursday, so for most full-time employees it is simply a paid day off.
Holiday Pay in Quebec
Quebec calculates statutory holiday indemnity as a proportion of wages earned during a defined period before the holiday, excluding overtime. Employees who work on the holiday are entitled to either a compensatory indemnity or a substitute day off, depending on the arrangement.
The rules are set out in the Act respecting labour standards and administered by the CNESST, which is where to go with a complaint rather than to the federal labour program.
