Queen Elizabeth II’s Holiday – Does it Apply to my Trucking Company?

On Tuesday, September 13th, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Monday, September 19th will be a federal holiday in honour of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth. Unfortunately for most employees across Canada and in Alberta, that doesn’t mean they get an extra holiday.  As most readers will know, approximately 90% of workers in Canada fall under provincial legislation not federal.

At the same time, the federal government began working with the provinces and territories to try and align a holiday at the provincial or territorial level. However, most provinces, including Alberta, have opted to make it a day of mourning, but not a holiday. So it looks like most employees will be working on Monday.

What does this mean for federally regulated employers? That was clarified on Wednesday morning when Federal Minister of Labour, Seamus O’Reagan, tweeted out the following.  “September 19, 2022, will be a holiday for federal government employees….Federally regulated employers are welcomed to follow suit, but they are not required to do so.”

In short, we will see most of you on Monday.