Thanksgiving Monday is Oct. 12, 2026. Banks, government offices and Canada Post are generally closed, while grocery stores, malls and transit vary by province, city and chain. Hours are often not finalized until the week of the holiday, so treat the guide below as what is typical and confirm with the specific business before you head out.
Banks, government and Canada Post
Major banks and federal government offices, including Service Canada centres, are generally closed on Thanksgiving Monday because it is a statutory holiday for federally regulated workplaces. Canada Post does not deliver or collect mail on statutory holidays. Online and mobile banking remain available, but in-branch service resumes Tuesday. Provincial government offices are closed in provinces that treat the day as a statutory holiday. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island do not treat it as a paid public holiday, and sources disagree on New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, so check your provincial government’s website.
Schools
Public schools are closed across most of the country. School calendars are set by individual boards, so confirm with yours.
Liquor stores
Liquor retail is set provincially and differs widely. BC Liquor Stores are reported closed on Thanksgiving Day. In Ontario, LCBO stores have typically been closed on the holiday and open normal hours over the weekend. Quebec’s SAQ has typically kept most stores open on Thanksgiving Monday. Alberta’s liquor retail is private, so hours differ from store to store. Check the retailer’s website before relying on any of this.
Groceries, malls and retail
Many large grocery chains close or run reduced hours in provinces where the day is a stat, but this varies by chain, region and individual store, and some independent and specialty grocers stay open. Costco has typically been closed on Thanksgiving. In Nova Scotia, most retail shops and large grocery and drug stores must close under the province’s retail closing rules. Big retail chains and malls often operate on reduced hours rather than closing completely in other provinces. We could not find confirmed 2026 hours from the major chains, so check store apps or websites over the weekend and do your holiday shopping on Saturday or Sunday.
City by city: transit and what to check
- Toronto: The TTC and GO Transit have run reduced holiday schedules on past Thanksgiving Mondays. Confirm 2026 service with the TTC and Metrolinx.
- Vancouver: BC Liquor Stores are reported closed. Check TransLink for any holiday schedule.
- Montreal: The STM has typically operated a holiday schedule. Most SAQ stores have typically been open.
- Calgary: Calgary Transit has run a Sunday level of service on past Thanksgiving Mondays. Confirm the 2026 schedule on its website.
- Edmonton: We could not confirm the 2026 Edmonton Transit schedule. Check the City of Edmonton site. Liquor retail is private, so hours vary.
- Ottawa: Federal offices are closed. Confirm OC Transpo service on its website.
- Winnipeg: We could not confirm the 2026 Winnipeg Transit schedule. Check the city’s website.
- Halifax: Halifax Transit lists reduced service on Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, running on its Sunday service. Most retail must close under Nova Scotia’s rules.
Before you go
Hours vary by city, province and retailer. If a business matters to your plans, check its website, app or phone line, and consult your province’s official statutory holiday list for what applies where you live. For the pay side of the holiday, see our report on who gets the day off, and for the history behind it, see what Thanksgiving in Canada means.
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Sources: Halifax Transit, HR Insider, Nova Scotia Advocate, and prior-year holiday listings from CTV News and CP24. Compiled by Canada News Media. Hours were not confirmed for every retailer and city.
