Statutory holiday pay · Alberta

Alberta stat holiday pay.

What you are owed for a Alberta statutory holiday, whether you take the day off or work it.

Alberta has nine general holidays and pays holiday pay as an average daily wage — wages in the four weeks before, divided by the days actually worked.

You must have worked at least 30 workdays for the employer in the previous 12 months to qualify. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is optional in Alberta, not statutory.

wages in the 4 weeks before ÷ days worked = average daily wage

2026 rates Source: Alberta.ca — Alberta general holidays Last verified 2 September 2026

Inputs

Your qualifying window
$

The employer chooses the window: the four weeks immediately before the holiday, or the four weeks ending on the last day of the pay period before it. Overtime is excluded.

The average day’s pay is the wages above divided by the number of days you actually worked in the window.

If you worked the holiday
$

What you are owed

Fill the form and press Calculate.

Alberta statutory holidays in 2026

Alberta recognises 9 general holidays:

Alberta separately lists four optional general holidays that an employer may choose to recognise: Easter Monday, Heritage Day (first Monday in August), the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (30 September) and Boxing Day. If an employer does recognise one, every holiday-pay rule then applies to it. So 30 September is not a statutory general holiday in Alberta.

Who qualifies for holiday pay

You must have worked at least 30 workdays for the same employer in the 12 months before the holiday. You also lose the entitlement if you are absent from work on a general holiday you were scheduled to work, or if you are absent on the last scheduled day before or the first scheduled day after the holiday without the employer’s consent. For irregular schedules, the “5 of 9 rule” decides whether a day is a regular day of work: it is, if you worked at least five of the previous nine occurrences of that weekday.

How Alberta calculates the pay

Alberta pays an average daily wage: wages divided by the number of days the employee worked. The employer picks the window — either the four weeks immediately before the general holiday, or the four weeks ending on the last day of the pay period before it. Overtime pay is not included. Alberta’s own example: $4,000 earned over 20 days worked gives an average daily wage of $200.

Working the holiday: On a regular day of work the employer chooses: 1½ times your wage for hours worked plus the average daily wage; or straight-time wages for hours worked plus a future day off paid at the average daily wage. If the holiday is not a regular day of work and you work it, you get 1½ times your wage for the hours only, with no average daily wage.

Source, last verified 2 September 2026: Alberta.ca — Alberta general holidays.

Frequently asked questions

How many general holidays does Alberta have?

Nine statutory general holidays: New Year’s Day, Alberta Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day.

Four more are optional — Easter Monday, Heritage Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Boxing Day. An employer may recognise them, and if it does, all the holiday-pay rules then apply.

Is 30 September a stat holiday in Alberta?

No. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is listed by Alberta as an optional general holiday, not a statutory one.

If your employer chooses to recognise it, then every general-holiday rule — eligibility, average daily wage, premium pay — applies to it exactly as it would to Canada Day.

Do I qualify for Alberta general holiday pay?

You must have worked at least 30 workdays for the same employer in the 12 months before the holiday, and you must not have been absent without consent on the last scheduled day before or the first scheduled day after it.

For irregular schedules the “5 of 9 rule” decides whether the holiday falls on a regular day of work: it does if you worked at least five of the last nine occurrences of that weekday.

How is Alberta holiday pay calculated?

As an average daily wage: wages divided by the number of days you actually worked. The employer chooses either the four weeks immediately before the holiday, or the four weeks ending on the last day of the pay period before it.

Overtime is excluded. Alberta’s own example: $4,000 over 20 days worked gives $200.

Estimate only — not legal advice

This calculator produces an estimate from the published employment-standards minimums. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination of what you are owed. Statutory holiday entitlement in Alberta is set by Alberta Employment Standards, and several occupations are exempt.

Collective agreements, employment contracts, exemptions for your occupation, averaging agreements and permits can all change the answer. For a binding answer, contact the employment-standards office named above or a lawyer.

Listening…