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Canadian sick leave laws

In Canada, sick leave, statutory leaves and dismissal rules are set province by province, with the Canada Labour Code covering federally regulated industries. Some provinces mandate paid sick days, most guarantee a few unpaid, job-protected days, and every one limits how an attendance policy can treat them. Each guide below covers what employers in that jurisdiction must do in 2026 — sick leave, doctor's notes, other statutory leaves, notice of termination, vacation pay, and what happens after a no-call no-show.

Province and territory guides

Alberta

5 unpaid personal and family days a year

British Columbia

5 paid + 3 unpaid sick days a year

Manitoba

3 unpaid family leave days a year (own or family health)

New Brunswick

5 unpaid sick days + 3 family days a year

Newfoundland and Labrador

7 unpaid sick or family days a year

Northwest Territories

5 unpaid, job-protected sick days a year

Nova Scotia

5 unpaid sick days + 3 family days a year

Nunavut

No statutory sick leave; policy and accommodation govern

Ontario

3 unpaid, job-protected sick days a year

Prince Edward Island

4 unpaid days, plus 1 to 3 paid days after a year

Quebec

26 weeks job-protected; first 2 days a year paid

Saskatchewan

12 job-protected sick days a year, unpaid

Yukon

1 unpaid sick day a month, banked up to 12

Federally regulated employers

Canada Labour Code

10 paid medical days a year (federally regulated employers)

The rules that don't depend on your province

Wherever you operate in Canada, human rights law requires accommodating disability-related absences, Employment Insurance looks at why employment ended, and every attendance decision is easier to defend with a written policy and a time-stamped call-off record. Start with how to write an attendance policy and what a call-off hotline is. US employer? See the US state sick leave laws hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

British Columbia (5 paid days), Quebec (2 paid days) and Prince Edward Island (1 to 3 paid days, by length of service) require paid sick leave, and the Canada Labour Code gives federally regulated employees up to 10 paid medical days a year. The other provinces and territories guarantee unpaid, job-protected sick or family days instead. Each guide gives the count, the waiting period and whether a doctor's note may be requested.

Yes. Every Canadian employment-standards statute lets employers set a reasonable reporting procedure — a deadline before the shift, a required channel such as a call-off line, and what the message must include — as long as it does not defeat the leave. What the statutes prohibit is penalizing an employee for taking a leave they were entitled to and reported. A text-based call-off line satisfies notice requirements in every province; see whether employees can text in sick.

It depends on the province. Ontario bars employers from requiring a certificate from a qualified health practitioner for the three statutory sick days, several other provinces allow a note only for absences beyond a set length or only where reasonable in the circumstances, and some allow one for any absence. Each guide says what applies and what changed in 2024 to 2026.

The statutory minimums apply to everyone, but a collective agreement usually adds its own just-cause and progressive-discipline rules, and an attendance dismissal in a unionized workplace is tested at arbitration. The guides describe the statutory floor; check the collective agreement for anything above it.

No. These guides summarize each jurisdiction's rules for employers in plain language and point to the statutes they draw on. Laws change, and the common law, contracts and collective agreements can add to the minimums, so confirm anything you plan to enforce with employment counsel or the provincial employment-standards office before acting on it.

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