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Celebrity birthdays on Canadian statutory holidays: four provinces

Celebrity birthdays on Canadian statutory holidays in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, plus the near-miss dates that trip up calendar makers.

What to take away

  • Statutory holidays are set by provincial employment standards law, not by one national list.
  • Family Day exists in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia on the third Monday of February; Quebec has no February statutory holiday.
  • St. Jean Baptiste Day, 24 June, is statutory in Quebec only.
  • Canada Day, 1 July, is statutory in every province and territory, so a 1 July birthday is a holiday nationwide.
  • A date that is a holiday in one province is often a working day in the next one.

The provincial grid

Four provinces, three holiday slots, and a real birthday in each row. The February column is the third Monday; the late May column is the Monday before 25 May.

Provincial holiday birthday grid

Ontario

February holiday
Family Day
Late May holiday
Victoria Day
24 June holiday
Not statutory
Birthday on holiday
Tommy Chong, 24 May

Quebec

February holiday
None
Late May holiday
National Patriots' Day
24 June holiday
St. Jean Baptiste
Birthday on holiday
Solange Knowles, 24 June

Alberta

February holiday
Family Day
Late May holiday
Victoria Day
24 June holiday
Not statutory
Birthday on holiday
Tommy Chong, 24 May

British Columbia

February holiday
Family Day
Late May holiday
Victoria Day
24 June holiday
Not statutory
Birthday on holiday
Tommy Chong, 24 May
ProvinceFebruary holidayLate May holiday24 June holidayBirthday on a provincial holiday
OntarioFamily DayVictoria DayNot statutoryTommy Chong, 24 May
QuebecNoneNational Patriots' DaySt. Jean Baptiste DaySolange Knowles, 24 June
AlbertaFamily DayVictoria DayNot statutoryTommy Chong, 24 May
British ColumbiaFamily DayVictoria DayNot statutoryTommy Chong, 24 May

Who is on the calendar, and why

Tommy Chong, actor and comedian, born 24 May 1938 in Edmonton. Late May is Victoria Day in most provinces and National Patriots' Day in Quebec, so his birthday lands on a statutory holiday in the years when 24 May is the holiday Monday.

Solange Knowles, singer and songwriter, born 24 June 1986. Her birthday is St. Jean Baptiste Day, statutory in Quebec alone. In Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, 24 June is an ordinary business day.

Pamela Anderson, actor, born 1 July 1967 in Ladysmith, British Columbia. Canada Day is statutory in all provinces and territories, so hers is the one birthday on this list that is a holiday everywhere.

Dan Aykroyd, actor and musician, born 1 July 1952 in Ottawa. Same Canada Day slot, same nationwide coverage.

Mike Myers, actor and comedian, born 25 May 1963 in Scarborough, Ontario. His birthday sits one day after the late May holiday Monday, which is the trap the next section covers.

Ryan Reynolds, actor, born 23 October 1976 in Vancouver. British Columbia observes Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October, not in his week, so his date is a plain working day in every province.

The near miss that catches calendar makers

Victoria Day is defined as the Monday before 25 May, so it lands on 18 May through 24 May depending on the year. A birthday on 25 May is never the holiday. A birthday on 24 May is the holiday only in years when 24 May is itself a Monday.

Victoria Day date drift

  1. 2026
    Victoria Day on 18 May
  2. 2026
    Tommy Chong birthday on 19 May
  3. 2027
    Victoria Day on 24 May
  4. 2027
    Tommy Chong birthday is holiday

Check the year before you print. In 2027, Victoria Day falls on 24 May, so Tommy Chong's birthday is the holiday that year. In 2026 it falls on 18 May, and his birthday is the Tuesday after.

The same drift applies to Family Day and to the August civic holiday, which Ontario's Employment Standards Act does not make statutory even though many wall calendars mark it as one.

Build the calendar province by province

  1. Pull the employment standards holiday list for each province and territory you track.
  2. Write each holiday in day-month-year order and note the rule that sets it, such as the Monday before 25 May.
  3. Add birthdays with day and month, never month alone.
  4. Test each birthday against each province's list, one province at a time.
  5. Flag the renamed datesLouis Riel Day in Manitoba, National Patriots' Day in Quebec, Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.

The Government of Canada's public holidays page collects the provincial and territorial differences in one place. General holidays under the Canada Labour Code cover federally regulated workplaces only, which is a small share of Canadian employees.

Example: one June date, two provinces

Solange Knowles was born on 24 June. In Montreal that is St. Jean Baptiste Day and the office is closed. In Toronto it is a Wednesday in June and the office is open. Same singer, same date, two calendars.

That is the whole argument against a single national birthday calendar. If you track February birthdays, which Canadian celebrities were born in February shows the same split around Family Day.

Before you print a date

Sources disagree on some celebrity birth dates, and a provincial calendar repeats whatever you feed it. The how to verify a celebrity birth date guide sets out what to check when two sources conflict, including whether a time zone shifted the recorded day.

Provincial vital records offices hold the strongest evidence for Canadian births, and each sets its own eligibility rules for who may request a record. Where sources still disagree, print both and cite each one.

If you would rather not maintain the list yourself, celebrity birthday apps compared covers which tools handle provincial holiday rules. A separate celebrities born on July 4 list covers US Independence Day and does not affect any Canadian statutory holiday.

Common questions

Is Victoria Day a statutory holiday in Quebec?

No. Quebec observes National Patriots' Day on the same Monday. The date is a holiday, the name is not.

Which province observes St. Jean Baptiste Day?

Quebec only. Elsewhere in Canada, 24 June is an ordinary working day unless an employer grants it.

Does Canada Day change by province?

No. Canada Day on 1 July is statutory in every province and territory, which makes it the safest date for a nationwide birthday calendar.

Do I need a separate calendar for each province?

For accuracy, yes. Provincial employment standards law sets the list, so one federal calendar will mislabel dates in most of the country.

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