Vacation, holidays and sick leave basics: British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario sick leave

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.

The rules below apply to employees in general, and the pages are not written for tree work. Ontario vacation and public holidays are on the earlier page on paid holiday and sick pay basics, which this page adds to. Provincial minimum wages are in minimum pay rules. Other provinces and the federal rules are not covered here.

At a glance

Province	Vacation and holidays	Sick leave
British Columbia	2 weeks after 12 months, 3 weeks after 5 years; 11 statutory holidays in 2026	After 90 days, 5 paid and 3 unpaid days a calendar year
Alberta	2 weeks after one year, 3 weeks after 5 years; 9 general holidays	Up to 27 weeks of long-term illness leave, listed as unpaid
Ontario	See the earlier page	3 unpaid days a calendar year after 2 consecutive weeks

British Columbia

The B.C. government's employment standards pages say employees earn vacation during their first year, and that after 12 months they get 2 weeks of annual vacation and after 5 years 3 weeks. Vacation pay has a floor of 4 percent of all wages paid in the year of employment before the vacation, rising to 6 percent after 5 years of employment. The page says employees cannot skip vacation and take only the pay, and that earned vacation has to be taken inside 12 months after it is earned. It also says agreements that give more vacation days or pay can be enforced.

The statutory holidays page lists 11 days for 2026 beginning with New Year's Day on January 1 and ending with Christmas Day on December 25, including B.C. Day on August 3 and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. It adds that Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day do not count as statutory holidays in B.C. Another page says an employee qualifies for statutory holiday pay after being employed for 30 calendar days and having worked or earned wages on 15 of the 30 days before the holiday, and that the pay equals an average day's pay.

The leaves of absence page says that an employee with 90 days of employment gets 5 paid days and 3 unpaid days a calendar year of job-protected illness or injury leave. It says unused days do not carry over to the following calendar year and that an employer may ask for reasonably sufficient proof. The same page lists a separate unpaid leave of up to 27 weeks within any 52-week period for serious personal illness or injury.

Alberta

Alberta's vacation page says employers must give most employees an annual vacation based on length of service, and that employees must work for one year before they are entitled to vacation time. It lists minimum paid vacations of 2 weeks after each of the first 4 years of employment and 3 weeks after 5 consecutive years. It gives vacation pay as 4 percent of yearly wages for the 2-week group and 6 percent for the 3-week group.

The general holidays page says there are 9 general holidays in Alberta and that employers can choose to recognize more. For holiday pay, the page asks for at least 30 workdays with the same employer in the 12 months before the holiday. It says the same calculations apply to full-time, part-time and casual employees.

The job-protected leaves page lists long-term illness and injury leave of up to 27 weeks for illness, injury or quarantine, and says leaves are unpaid, though Employment Insurance income support may be available in some cases.

Ontario sick leave

The Ontario government's guide to the Employment Standards Act says most employees can take up to 3 unpaid, job-protected days of leave in a calendar year for personal illness, injury or medical emergency. Entitlement starts once the employee has worked for the employer for at least 2 consecutive weeks. The days are not pro-rated, do not carry over and may be taken in part days. The guide says that since October 28, 2024 employers cannot require a certificate from a physician, registered nurse or psychologist to take the leave, though an employer may ask for evidence reasonable in the circumstances. It says a contract or collective agreement that gives a greater right applies instead.