Canadian PTO Laws by Province: What Every HR Professional Must Know in 2025
Vacation entitlements vary by province and tenure. Get the minimums wrong, and you're on the hook. Here's the breakdown.
You're putting together an offer. The candidate asks about vacation. You throw out "two weeks" and hope you're right. Except—depending on province and tenure—you might not be.
Most provinces follow a similar pattern: 2 weeks after 1 year, 3 weeks after 5 years, 4 weeks after 10. But the details differ. In Alberta, vacation pay is 4% for the first five years, then 6%. In BC, same idea—4% then 6%—but the thresholds aren't identical everywhere. Newfoundland doesn't hit 6% until 15 years. New Brunswick hits it at 8. Saskatchewan made changes in 2025. You get the picture.
And that's just vacation. There's also statutory holidays, sick leave (some provinces have it, some don't), and bereavement. Get it wrong at offer stage, and you're either under-promising (bad for the candidate) or over-promising (bad for the company when someone checks the employment standards act).
The safe move: run the numbers before you draft the offer. Know the minimums for the province, the tenure, and the employment type. If you're offering above minimum—which many employers do—be clear about what's statutory vs. discretionary. A quick check now saves a lot of explaining later.