Canadian vacation pay calculator

Vacation pay is not holiday pay, and not take-home pay

Vacation pay is the money that funds your vacation time: a percentage of the wages you earned in the entitlement year. Statutory or general holiday pay is a different entitlement, calculated differently, and it is not included here. Neither figure is what lands in your bank account — income tax, CPP or QPP and EI still come off.

Which earnings count is set by your own jurisdiction, and the differences are real. Some include overtime and commission, some exclude tips and gratuities, and most exclude vacation pay itself from the base. The rule for the jurisdiction you pick is shown with your result.

Worked examples

Our own worked examples using the published rates, not official government examples.

British Columbia, six years, CA$58,000 earnings

Six completed years puts you on 6%, so 58,000 × 6% = CA$3,480 gross. If CA$1,200 has already been paid on your cheques, CA$2,280 is the estimated remainder.

Saskatchewan, three years, CA$52,000 earnings

Saskatchewan works in fractions of 52: 3/52 is about 5.7692%, giving roughly CA$3,000 gross — noticeably more than the 4% most provinces start at.

Nova Scotia, seven completed years

The rate rises to 6% after seven completed years, a full year before vacation time rises to three weeks. Pairing “6% with three weeks” would underpay this employee for a year.

Are you federally regulated? Most people are not

About nine in ten employees in Canada are covered by the employment standards law of the province or territory where they work. A smaller group works in industries Parliament regulates instead, and those jobs follow the Canada Labour Code no matter which province they are in: banks; airlines, railways, shipping and interprovincial trucking and bus lines; telephone, internet and broadcasting companies; ports and grain elevators; the postal service; First Nations band councils; and federal Crown corporations.

Federal rules are not a national default. If your work is not on that list, your province or territory sets your vacation minimums, and the figures can be very different.

Government of Canada — Federal labour standards: who is covered

The rules, jurisdiction by jurisdiction

Minimum vacation time and minimum vacation pay are two separate legal minimums, and they do not always rise at the same time. Every figure below is checked against that jurisdiction's own official source, listed in the last column. Rules checked 16 September 2026.

Eligible earnings, first years and exemptions

Federally regulated employment (Canada Labour Code)

Eligible earnings: Wages, meaning every form of remuneration for work performed. Tips and gratuities are excluded from the Code's definition of wages. First and partial years: The two-week vacation time entitlement arises once you complete a year of employment. Vacation pay is a percentage of the wages you earned in that year. Exemptions and limits: Only federally regulated workplaces are covered: banks, airlines and other interprovincial transport, telecommunications and broadcasting, ports, postal service, First Nations band councils and federal Crown corporations, among others. Everyone else is covered by their province or territory. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Alberta

Eligible earnings: Wages paid for work, together with the previous year's vacation pay. Overtime pay, general holiday pay, termination pay and expense reimbursements are treated separately — check Alberta's guidance for your pay type. First and partial years: Employees must work one year before the vacation time entitlement applies. An employee may take paid vacation earlier if the employer agrees. Exemptions and limits: Excluded from the vacation rules: licensed or registered real estate and securities salespeople; commission salespeople who solicit orders principally away from the employer's place of business (route salespeople are not exempt); extras in film or video production; commission-only licensed insurance salespeople; and teachers. Farm and ranch employers with five or fewer waged, non-family workers are exempt from employment standards generally. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less. Where we are less certain: Alberta's public guidance page states the two-week and three-week tiers but does not print the 4% and 6% figures on that page. We use 4% and 6% because that is what Alberta's own employer toolkit and the Employment Standards Code produce; if the exact figure matters to you, confirm it with Alberta Employment Standards.

British Columbia

Eligible earnings: Total wages as defined by the Act. Gratuities are dealt with separately under Part 3 and are not wages for this purpose. First and partial years: Vacation time does not arise until 12 consecutive months are complete. Vacation pay at 4% starts after just 5 calendar days of employment. Exemptions and limits: Industry and occupation exclusions exist under the Employment Standards Regulation. Statutory holidays are not counted as vacation. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Manitoba

Eligible earnings: Gross wages earned in the year. Manitoba sets the rate as 2% of that year's wages for each week of vacation entitlement. First and partial years: Two weeks of vacation is earned after each of the first four years. If employment ends part-way through the fifth year, vacation pay is paid at 4%, not 6%. Exemptions and limits: Some workers, including certain agricultural, construction and professional roles, are entitled to some but not all employment standards. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less. Where we are less certain: Manitoba's factsheet answers “when do employees start earning vacation time and pay?” in more detail than we reproduce here. If you are within your first year, read that answer directly.

New Brunswick

Eligible earnings: Gross wages earned during the year of employment that gives rise to the vacation pay. First and partial years: Vacation can also be expressed monthly: one day for each month worked below eight years of service, and 1.25 days a month from eight years. Exemptions and limits: Domestic workers employed in a private home by the homeowner are outside the Act. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Eligible earnings: Gross income, including commissions and overtime. First and partial years: Vacation pay is earned once you have been employed for five working days, well before the 12-month point at which the time entitlement arises. Exemptions and limits: Vacation time requires having worked at least 90% of your regular hours in the 12-month period. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Northwest Territories

Eligible earnings: Regular pay, overtime pay, commission and bonuses that form part of the employment agreement, recall pay, termination pay, profit sharing, shift premiums and statutory holiday pay. First and partial years: Vacation pay accumulates from the first hour worked. Any outstanding vacation pay must be included in final pay, due within 10 days of the last day worked. Exemptions and limits: Federal and territorial government employees and federally regulated industries are outside the Act. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less. Where we are less certain: The most recent official Northwest Territories guidance we could locate is the Employment Standards FAQ dated October 2021. We could not confirm from a newer official publication that the tiers are unchanged.

Nova Scotia

Eligible earnings: Wages, which include salary, commission and most other forms of compensation, but not vacation pay itself. First and partial years: Vacation pay is earned during the first 12 months of work and every 12 months after that. An employee who works less than 90% of their regular hours in the period may agree in writing to take vacation pay instead of the time. Exemptions and limits: Excluded from the vacation rules: real estate and car salespeople, certain commissioned salespeople who work outside the employer's place of business (other than on an established route), mobile-home salespeople, fishing-boat crew, and athletes while engaged in athletic activity. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Nunavut

Eligible earnings: Total gross wages from your start date. First and partial years: All employees are entitled to vacation pay however long they have been employed. On quitting, layoff or termination you are owed the vacation pay accumulated but not yet paid. Exemptions and limits: Trappers, people engaged in commercial fisheries and certain professions are excluded by regulation. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less. Where we are less certain: The consolidated Nunavut Labour Standards Act we could locate is current to 2014, and the tiers above come from the Labour Standards Compliance Office's own plain-language fact sheet, which describes itself as a guide. They match the parallel Northwest Territories rules, but confirm with the Compliance Office before relying on them.

Ontario

Eligible earnings: Gross wages earned in the vacation entitlement year or stub period, excluding any vacation pay itself. First and partial years: If you do not complete the full vacation entitlement year or stub period you do not qualify for vacation time, but you still earn vacation pay on the wages you did earn. A stub period is pro-rated. Exemptions and limits: Some jobs are exempt from the vacation standard in Part XI, including certain commission salespeople and some information-technology professionals. Check the ESA exemptions guide for your role. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Prince Edward Island

Eligible earnings: Total earnings for the period. The Act's definition of wages excludes holiday pay, vacation pay itself, leave pay, tips and gratuities, and benefits; the cash value of meals and lodging is included. First and partial years: If employment ends with less than 12 continuous months since you last qualified, you are paid 4% (or 6% above five years) of your earnings by the end of the next regular pay period. A part-time employee working under 90% of normal hours in the year may elect vacation pay instead of time. Exemptions and limits: Seasonal employment has its own provisions — check the PEI guidance page if your work is seasonal. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Quebec

Eligible earnings: Gross salary (salaire brut) earned during the reference year. First and partial years: With less than one year of continuous service at the end of the reference year, you earn one working day of vacation per completed month of service, up to a maximum of two weeks. Exemptions and limits: Certain absences — illness, an accident, organ or tissue donation, domestic or sexual violence, and parental leaves — can trigger a substitute vacation indemnity so that the leave does not reduce your vacation pay. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Saskatchewan

Eligible earnings: All salary, commission, earned bonuses and other monetary compensation for work, including overtime, public holiday pay and the previous year's vacation pay. First and partial years: Everyone earns vacation pay, including employees who have not worked a full year, and part-time, casual, temporary and seasonal staff. Exemptions and limits: Vacation must be taken within 12 months of becoming entitled to it; if it is not taken, the vacation pay is due within 11 months. On termination, unpaid vacation pay is due within 14 days. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Yukon

Eligible earnings: Gross wages. Vacation pay is itself deemed to be wages under s.21(2). First and partial years: An employer must begin paying vacation pay once you have been continuously employed for 14 days, before the one-year time entitlement arises. Exemptions and limits: Yukon sets no statutory third week: the minimum stays at two weeks and 4% however long you stay. Anything more comes from your contract or collective agreement. Members of the employer's family are excluded, as are territorial, First Nations and federal government employees and federally regulated industries. A collective agreement or an employment contract can give more than the minimum, and the better term applies. It can never give less.

Common questions

My employer pays vacation pay on every cheque. Is that allowed?

In many jurisdictions yes, subject to conditions such as showing it separately on your pay statement. Enter what has been paid so far and the calculator shows the remainder rather than double-counting it.

Do I get vacation pay in my first year?

Usually yes, even before you are entitled to take the time off. British Columbia starts it after five calendar days, Yukon after fourteen days, and the Northwest Territories from the first hour worked. The rule for your jurisdiction is shown with the result.

Does overtime count?

It depends on the jurisdiction — Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador include it explicitly, others define wages differently. The definition that applies to you is shown with your result, and you enter the earnings figure yourself.