What’s open on New Year’s Day 2027 in Canada, by province

Most stores in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador must stay closed on New Year’s Day, Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. Quebec closes grocery stores and SAQ outlets over 375 square metres, and normal hours return on Saturday, Jan. 2, according to provincial government pages and statutes.

Updated Nov. 11, 2026. Chains had not posted 2027 holiday hours that we could find, so this guide sets out what each province’s own rules say, and where we could not confirm a rule we say so.

Key facts: New Year’s Day 2027 shopping rules

Not every statute names the same kinds of business, and the texts differ in age. New Brunswick’s Act is current to Jan. 1, 2024 on the page we read, the Nova Scotia PDF is stamped Jan. 1, 2015 and the Prince Edward Island copy is an unofficial consolidation current to September 2014, so confirm any rule with your province before relying on it for a business decision.

Are stores open on New Year’s Day in Ontario?

Mostly no. Ontario.ca says retail businesses in the province must be closed on seven listed holidays each year, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, is the first on the list. The page was last updated July 7, 2026.

The province lists limited exceptions, including gas stations, flower shops, nurseries, garden centres, tourist areas designated by municipal bylaw and small shops of 2,400 square feet or less with three or fewer employees that sell only tobacco, antiques, handicrafts or books. The page names no general exemption for grocery stores or pharmacies.

Fines start at $500 for a first offence, $2,000 for a second and $5,000 for a third or later offence, with higher penalties for repeat cases, the province says. Boxing Day, by contrast, is not a closing day, which is why shopping rules differ between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1.

Is Quebec closed on New Year’s Day?

Partly. For the 2026-27 holiday season, Quebec.ca lists Friday, Jan. 1, 2027 as a closing day for large food stores and large SAQ outlets, meaning those of more than 375 square metres of sales area. Food stores and SAQ outlets of 375 square metres or less may keep their normal hours.

The same page lists general commercial establishments as closed on Jan. 1. Saturday, Jan. 2 is listed with normal hours for both sizes of food store. Pharmacies may open all day and around the clock on holidays, the province says, and Dec. 31 has its own separate rules on the page.

To see how the size line works, take two grocers. A 300-square-metre neighbourhood store is under the threshold and can open at its regular time on Jan. 1. A 1,200-square-metre supermarket is over it, so it must stay closed all day and reopens on Jan. 2. The threshold, not the banner on the door, decides.

Are stores closed on New Year’s Day in the Atlantic provinces?

Yes, in all four. Nova Scotia’s Retail Business Uniform Closing Day Act lists New Year’s Day as a uniform closing day and bars both retail sales and admitting the public. It exempts drug stores outside department stores, service stations and restaurants, among others, and it sets no size threshold, so convenience stores are not exempt.

New Brunswick’s Days of Rest Act prohibits carrying on a retail business or admitting the public on New Year’s Day. It exempts small shops that normally employ no more than three people and sell only food, newspapers, tobacco or confectionery, drug stores with less than 850 square metres of public area, and motor vehicle service stations, along with restaurants and hotels.

Prince Edward Island’s Retail Business Holidays Act lists New Year’s Day and exempts service stations, restaurants, bakeries, flower shops, small convenience stores and drug stores with a registered pharmacist on duty. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Shops’ Closing Act lists New Year’s Day as a holiday in all areas of the province, and the penalty is 1.5 times the day’s receipts.

Is anything required to close in Western Canada or Manitoba?

We could not confirm a provincial retail closing rule for British Columbia, Alberta or Saskatchewan from a government page this week, and we have not guessed. Their holiday pages cover pay rules, not store hours. Manitoba repealed its Retail Businesses Holiday Closing Act effective Dec. 12, 2020, according to the province’s repealed-statutes page, though a municipal bylaw could still apply.

In those places, whether a store opens is mostly the retailer’s decision, and open stores must follow holiday pay rules. See our 2027 statutory holidays by province for the pay side.

Are Walmart, Costco and the grocery chains open on Jan. 1?

We found no published 2027 New Year’s Day hours for the national chains, and we could not load official holiday-hours pages for several of them. Chains usually post holiday hours store by store in late December. In provinces with closing laws, the law sets the limit regardless of what a chain would prefer.

Buy groceries and medication by Thursday, Dec. 31 in the provinces that close stores on Jan. 1, and note that Quebec’s Dec. 31 hours differ from normal. Canada News Media will update this page when provinces and chains publish their hours.

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Sources: Ontario.ca, Quebec.ca, the Government of New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia legislature, the Government of Prince Edward Island, the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly and the Government of Manitoba, linked above and read Nov. 11, 2026. This page is not legal advice.

Related: What’s open on Christmas Day 2026 in Canada, by province, 2027 statutory holidays by province and school winter break dates by province.