Ontario court holidays
The days that count as holidays when an Ontario 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
- Civic HolidayMonday 3 August
- Labour DayMonday 7 September
- Thanksgiving DayMonday 12 October
- Remembrance DayWednesday 11 November
- Christmas DayFriday 25 December
- Boxing DaySaturday 26 December
- Boxing Day (observed) substitute dayMonday 28 December
Questions this page answers
- How many court holidays does Ontario have in 2026?
- 13: 12 holidays, plus one substitute day taken because a holiday falls on a weekend. The holidays are New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, 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, Civic Holiday and Family Day court holidays in Ontario?
- Yes. Boxing Day, Civic Holiday and Family Day count as holidays when an Ontario 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 Ontario 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 Ontario?
- No. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is on the federal court holiday list and not on the Ontario one, so for the purpose of computing time in Ontario it is an ordinary day. Whether the Ontario courts sit that day is a separate question from whether it comes out of the arithmetic.
- Are these the days the Ontario courts are closed?
- Not quite, and the difference matters. This is the list a court uses when it computes time, set by Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194, r. 1.03(1). 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 named as holidays in the Rules of Civil Procedure, r. 1.03(1), which also counts every Saturday and Sunday and any special holiday proclaimed by the Governor General or the Lieutenant Governor. Not the same list as Ontario's employment-standards holidays, which do not include Easter Monday, the Civic Holiday or Remembrance Day.
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.
- Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194, r. 1.03(1)Defines holiday as any Saturday or Sunday, New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, the Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and any special holiday proclaimed by the Governor General or the Lieutenant Governor, with the Monday substitution for a weekend New Year's Day, Canada Day or Remembrance Day and the Monday and Tuesday after a weekend Christmas.
- Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194, r. 3.01Computation of time. Holidays are not counted where a period of seven days or less is prescribed, and a period ending on a holiday runs to the next day that is not one.
- Your guide to the Employment Standards Act: public holidays (Ontario)The nine employment-standards holidays, and the statement that an employer giving a holiday on Easter Monday, the first Monday in August or Remembrance Day is not required by the Act to do it. This is the list r. 1.03(1) is not.
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.