How we check holiday hours

Every answer on IsItOpen.ca is a single store or service, on a single holiday, in a single province or territory. For each one we look for a source we can link to, and if we can't find one we say so. Here's exactly how that works.

1. Where answers come from

We use these sources, in this order:

1. The company's own published hours. Holiday-hours pages, store locators that list holiday hours for each location, press releases and official calendars. Examples: the LCBO's store calendar, Canada Post's holiday schedule, TD's branch holiday schedule, and the holiday hours on IKEA, Home Depot and BC Liquor Stores location pages.
2. Provincial and federal law. Some provinces require most stores to close on certain holidays: Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act, Quebec's rules on commercial opening hours, New Brunswick's Days of Rest Act, Nova Scotia's Retail Business Designated Day Closing Act and Remembrance Day Act, P.E.I.'s Retail Business Holidays Act, Newfoundland and Labrador's Shops' Closing Act, and Manitoba's Remembrance Day rules. When a law closes a store type, we say "Closed" and link the law, and we name the main exemptions (such as pharmacies and small stores).
3. Reputable news reports of hours a company has announced, only when the company hasn't published them itself, and always labelled as a news report.

We don't use crowd-sourced lists, other "what's open" sites, or last year's hours presented as this year's. If a store's hours from a past year are useful context, we label them clearly as past hours and still answer "Check local".

2. What each answer means

• Open A source says the store or service is open. If the source gives hours, we show them.
• Limited Open with restrictions: reduced hours, only some locations, or a legal window such as Manitoba's 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Remembrance Day closure.
• Closed The company says it's closed, or a provincial law requires it to close.
• Check local We couldn't find an official answer yet. This is not a guess that it's open or closed.
• Depends The answer differs by province. Pick your province to see yours.

3. Sources and "last checked" dates

Every answer lists its sources with a link and the date we last checked them. Our dataset currently cites 43 sources, and 1,632 of 4,338 province-level answers have a confirmed source. The rest stay "check local" until we can confirm them. The last full check was 2026-10-15.

4. When we update

• Before every holiday. In the weeks before each holiday we re-check every store and service for that day, because most chains publish holiday hours only a few days or weeks ahead.
• When laws change. For example, Ontario stopped requiring stores to close on Family Day and Victoria Day in April 2026, and we updated those answers.
• When you tell us. Corrections sent to us are checked against an official source and applied.

5. Limits

Chain-wide answers can't cover every location. Malls, airports, hospitals, tourist areas, franchises and small or exempt stores often keep their own hours, and companies can change plans at short notice. If it matters, call the store or check its page in the company's store locator; every answer page links to it.

6. Corrections

Found a mistake? Email info@isitopen.ca with the store, holiday, province and, if you can, a link to the official source. See Contact.

IsItOpen.ca is independent and not affiliated with any store, bank or government listed. Key legal references: Ontario retail business holidays, Québec: heures d'ouverture lors des jours fériés, Retail Council of Canada: holiday store hours by province.