Alberta court holidays
The days that count as holidays when an Alberta court deadline is computed. This is not the federal list and it is not the employment-standards list, which is where a miscounted deadline usually starts.
- New Year's DayThursday 1 January
- Family DayMonday 16 February
- Good FridayFriday 3 April
- Easter MondayMonday 6 April
- Victoria DayMonday 18 May
- Canada DayWednesday 1 July
- Labour DayMonday 7 September
- Thanksgiving DayMonday 12 October
- Remembrance DayWednesday 11 November
- Christmas DayFriday 25 December
- Boxing DaySaturday 26 December
Questions this page answers
- How many court holidays does Alberta have in 2026?
- 11. The holidays are New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. This list was last checked against the official consolidation on 12 August 2026, and the instrument behind it is cited at the foot of the page.
- Are Boxing Day and Family Day court holidays in Alberta?
- Yes. Boxing Day and Family Day count as holidays when an Alberta court deadline is computed. They do not appear on the federal court holiday list at all, so the same date can be a day that comes out of the count in Alberta and an ordinary working day in the Federal Court. A firm that appears in both cannot count off one list for both.
- Is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a court holiday in Alberta?
- No. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is on the federal court holiday list and not on the Alberta one, so for the purpose of computing time in Alberta it is an ordinary day. Whether the Alberta courts sit that day is a separate question from whether it comes out of the arithmetic.
- Are these the days the Alberta courts are closed?
- Not quite, and the difference matters. This is the list a court uses when it computes time, set by Interpretation Act, RSA 2000, c I-8, s. 28(1)(x). Which days a registry has its doors open is a separate question with a separate answer: a local closure, or a day proclaimed after any list was published, binds you whatever a published list says, and a day the doors are shut is not necessarily a day that comes out of the arithmetic.
Where this list comes from
The days listed in s. 28(1)(x) of the Interpretation Act (Alberta): every Sunday; New Year's Day, Alberta Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas Day; the Sovereign's birthday; 26 December, or the 27th when the 26th falls on a Sunday or a Monday; any day proclaimed a public holiday or a day of fast, thanksgiving or mourning; and any local tree-planting day proclaimed for part of the province. The section grants no other substitute days, and the Alberta Rules of Court do not use the word at all, so the Act governs.
Every instrument below was opened and the provision quoted from it read on 12 August 2026. Anything amended since that date is not reflected here, and the dates are generated from a table in this site's source code rather than read live from the statute.
- Interpretation Act, RSA 2000, c I-8, s. 28(1)(x)The definition of holiday. Sub-paragraph (iv) is the one that catches people out: 26 December, or when that date falls on a Sunday or a Monday, then 27 December. The day moves; it is not doubled.
- Interpretation Act, RSA 2000, c I-8, s. 22(1)Computation of time: where the time limited by an enactment for doing a thing expires or falls on a holiday, the thing may be done on the next day that is not one.
- Alberta Rules of Court, Alta Reg 124/2010Cited for what it does not say. The word holiday does not appear anywhere in the consolidated Rules, which is why the Interpretation Act definition is the operative one.
The table cannot know about a day proclaimed after it was written, a closure at your own courthouse, or an amendment to the underlying rules. Confirm any date that a limitation period or a filing deadline depends on.
This page is published for general information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a solicitor-client relationship, and no retainer arises from reading it. To the fullest extent the law allows, Yehuda Levy accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on it. You are responsible for verifying every date against the rules and the court in question.
Counting a deadline around these days
The deadline calculator counts calendar or business days from a triggering date with this list already taken out. Freeboard does the same inside the matter and keeps each firm’s own list, so the days it counts are the ones your court actually observes.