2027 Holiday Closure Calendar for US and Canadian Businesses

Why a holiday calendar matters for your phone line

Every holiday your business closes is a day your phone keeps ringing. If the greeting still says "we're open, please hold," callers wait, give up, and some will not call back. If it says "closed for the holidays" in March, you lose the calls you could have answered.

This guide gives you the 2027 dates you need to plan those greetings in one place: US federal holidays, Canadian federal general holidays, and the provincial lists for Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. Every date below was checked against an official source on 28 October 2026. At the end there is a combined calendar, greeting scripts and a scheduling checklist.

The key point: holiday laws set pay, not whether you close

Holiday statutes mostly decide who gets paid time off, not which businesses must lock the door.

• United States. The federal holiday list in 5 U.S.C. 6103 sets "legal public holidays," and its weekend rules are written "for the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees" ^[1]. It governs federal workers. Private employers decide their own closing days.
• Canada. Holiday rules sit in employment standards: the Canada Labour Code for federally regulated employers ^[2] and provincial laws for everyone else. Alberta puts it plainly: "The same rules apply whether a business is open or closed on a holiday" ^[3].

So the lists below tell you which days your staff may be entitled to, which days banks, governments and many customers will be closed, and which days callers will expect you to be closed. Whether you actually close is your decision (some retail sectors have separate opening-hour rules; check yours if you run a store). Your phone greeting should match what you decide, not what the calendar says.

This is general information as of October 2026, not legal or payroll advice.

US federal holidays 2027

The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes the federal holiday dates, including "observed" days when a holiday falls on a weekend. In 2027 four holidays move ^[4]:

Sources: OPM; Federal Reserve Financial Services holiday schedule.

Why the two columns differ: for a holiday on a Saturday, OPM treats the preceding Friday as the holiday for federal pay and leave ^[4], but the Federal Reserve says that "for holidays falling on Saturday, Federal Reserve Banks and Branches will be open the preceding Friday." For a Sunday holiday, both close the following Monday ^[5].

What this means for your greeting:

• Friday, June 18; Friday, December 24; and Friday, December 31, 2027 are days when federal offices are closed but the Federal Reserve is open. Payments and deposits may still move. Many private businesses stay open, at least part of the day. Decide early and tell your team.
• December 31, 2027 belongs to the 2028 holiday year. OPM lists it under 2028 because it is the observed New Year's Day for 2028 ^[4]. Calendars that only list "2027 holidays" often miss it. Extra federal closures can be announced during the year, so check OPM again before December 2027.
• States add their own holidays. Several states observe days that are not on the federal list. Check your state's list for local closures.

Canadian federal general holidays 2027

Federally regulated employers (banks, airlines, telecoms, interprovincial transport and others) follow the Canada Labour Code, which lists ten general holidays ^[2]. The 2027 dates:

Dates as published for 2027 by British Columbia and Alberta for the same holidays; Boxing Day from Alberta's list.

The weekend rule. Christmas and Boxing Day both fall on a weekend in 2027. Under the federal rule, if New Year's Day, Canada Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a non-working Saturday or Sunday, employees are "entitled to a holiday with pay on the scheduled work day immediately before or after the general holiday" ^[2]. In practice that puts federally regulated workplaces' days off around Friday, December 24 and/or Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28. Confirm the exact days with your payroll provider.

Province by province: Ontario, BC, Alberta, Quebec

Most Canadian businesses follow provincial rules, and the lists differ more than people expect.

2027 provincial holiday table

Sources: Ontario's nine public holidays ^[6]; B.C. 2027 dates and the note that "Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day are not statutory holidays in B.C." ^[7]; Alberta general and optional holidays with 2027 dates ^[3]; Quebec's seven statutory general holidays in section 60 of the Act respecting labour standards ^[8] and June 24 under the National Holiday Act ^[9].

Notes on the table:

• Ontario. The Ontario guide lists names, not dates. It notes that Easter Monday and the first Monday in August (Civic Holiday) are given by some employers, but "the employer is not required to do so" ^[6]. When a public holiday falls on a day an employee does not normally work, the employee gets a substitute day off with holiday pay, scheduled no later than three months after the holiday (up to 12 months by written agreement) ^[6]. With Christmas on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday, many Ontario employers will pick Monday, December 27 and Tuesday, December 28; a holiday-date site lists those as the observed days ^[10], but the law requires a substitute day, not those exact dates.
• British Columbia. B.C. publishes a dated 2027 list. Boxing Day and Easter Monday are not statutory holidays there; employers and employees may agree in writing to substitute another day ^[7].
• Alberta. Alberta separates nine general holidays from four optional ones (Easter Monday, Heritage Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Boxing Day); if an employer recognises an optional holiday, holiday pay rules apply ^[3].
• Quebec. Section 60 of the Act respecting labour standards lists January 1; Good Friday or Easter Monday "at the option of the employer"; the Monday preceding May 25; July 1, "or 2 July where the 1st falls on a Sunday"; the first Monday in September; the second Monday in October; and December 25 ^[8]. June 24 is a separate statutory holiday, moved to June 25 only for employees who do not normally work Sundays when the 24th falls on a Sunday ^[9]. Neither shift applies in 2027. When a holiday does not fall on an employee's regular schedule, the employer pays the holiday indemnity or grants a compensatory day ^[8].

Other provinces and territories have their own lists. Check your provincial employment standards office before you set your closures.

The 2027 combined calendar

Use this as the master list when you schedule greetings. "Who" shows who commonly observes the day; your own closures are your call.

Sources: the dated tables and statutes cited above.

Greeting scripts for holiday closures

A good holiday greeting answers three questions in under 20 seconds: are you closed, when do you reopen, and what should I do now.

Single closed day

Thank you for calling [Business name]. Our office is closed today, [Monday, October 11], for [Thanksgiving]. We reopen tomorrow, [Tuesday, October 12], at [9 a.m.]. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back after we reopen.

Multi-day closure (end of year)

Thank you for calling [Business name]. Our office is closed from [Friday, December 24] through [Tuesday, December 28] for the holidays. We reopen [Wednesday, December 29] at [9 a.m.]. Please leave a message and we will return your call when we are back. Happy holidays.

Bilingual (Quebec)

Merci d'avoir appelé [Nom de l'entreprise]. Nos bureaux sont fermés aujourd'hui, [jeudi 24 juin], pour la Fête nationale. Nous serons de retour [vendredi 25 juin] à [8 h 30]. Veuillez laisser un message après le signal sonore. Thank you for calling [Business name]. Our office is closed today for Quebec's national holiday and reopens [Friday, June 25] at [8:30 a.m.]. Please leave a message after the tone.

Writing tips:

• Say the reopening day and time, not just "after the holiday." Callers do not know whether you close for one day or four.
• For urgent matters, give a real alternative if you have one, and never imply your line handles emergencies. More wording options are in the holiday closure call flow template and the phone menu script library.

Scheduling checklist

Do this once, in January or now, for the whole year:

1. Decide your closures for 2027 using the combined calendar. Write them down, including partial days (for example a 1 p.m. close on December 24).
2. Check every location's rules. A business with offices in Ontario and Quebec has different holidays in each; a US-Canada business has two lists.
3. Enter the dates in your phone system as closed days, if it supports a holiday list, so the closed greeting plays automatically.
4. Check the time zone your phone system uses for closures. A holiday that starts at midnight Eastern starts at 9 p.m. the night before in Pacific time.
5. Write the closure wording and save it ahead of time; switch it on the afternoon before.
6. Plan partial days. If you close early on December 24 or December 31, adjust the hours for that day rather than marking the full day closed.
7. Tell the people who take overflow calls or voicemail which days the inbox needs checking.
8. Update other channels: your website hours and your Google Business Profile, so callers see the same information everywhere.
9. Test it. Call your number on the first closed morning (or simulate it) and listen to the full message.

FAQ

Is Boxing Day a statutory holiday everywhere in Canada? No. It is a federal general holiday and an Ontario public holiday, optional in Alberta, and not a statutory holiday in British Columbia ^[2][6][3][7]. It is not on Quebec's section 60 list (N-1.1).

Is Easter Monday a holiday? Only in some places: optional in Alberta, and in Quebec an employer may choose Easter Monday instead of Good Friday ^[3][8]. It is not a statutory holiday in Ontario or British Columbia.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend? It depends on who you are. US federal offices close the Friday before a Saturday holiday and the Monday after a Sunday holiday ^[4]; the Federal Reserve stays open on the Friday ^[5]. In Canada, employees generally get a substitute day or holiday pay under federal or provincial rules. Your greeting should follow the days you close.

With Auto Attendant, you add each closed date in the dashboard and callers hear your closed message, then voicemail if you choose, for that whole day.