Overtime Pay and Hours of Work in Canada

In Canada, there is no single national law that sets overtime pay for most workers. Overtime is set by the employment standards legislation of the province or territory where the work is performed, and the hours-per-week threshold, the daily rules, and even the overtime rate itself can differ from one jurisdiction to the next. The one major exception is employees of federally regulated employers, such as banks, airlines, and interprovincial trucking or telecommunications companies, whose overtime comes from the Canada Labour Code instead of a provincial statute.

This guide sets out the overtime threshold and rate in every Canadian province and territory, walks through the three main approaches provinces use (weekly-only, the greater of daily-or-weekly, and a tiered daily-plus-weekly system), and covers the exemptions and averaging arrangements that change how overtime is actually calculated for a given job. For background on how employment standards are structured across the country, see our employment standards overview.

How Overtime Works Across Canada

Overtime pay is generally based on hours actually worked in a work week (or a work day, where a province sets a daily rule), not on a fixed salary or an assumption about how long a job "should" take. Salaried employees are entitled to overtime under most provincial rules unless a specific exemption applies to their role.

Every province and territory defines its own "standard hours of work", the point at which extra hours start to attract a premium rate, and its own overtime rate, almost always 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay (sometimes called "time and a half"). British Columbia is one exception, with a second, higher tier of double time after a longer daily threshold. New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are a different kind of exception: their statutory overtime floor is 1.5 times the minimum wage, not the employee's own wage, which can be lower for a higher-paid worker. For a broader look at how overtime fits alongside minimum wage, vacation, and termination rules, see our Canada employment law hub.

Overtime Pay by Province and Territory

The table below summarizes the general overtime rule in each jurisdiction. Some provinces set different thresholds for specific industries (trucking, construction, and healthcare are common examples), so this table reflects the general rule that applies to most employees, not every sector-specific variation.

Ontario: Overtime After 44 Hours a Week

Under Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000, most employees earn overtime pay once they have worked more than 44 hours in a single work week. Ontario calculates overtime weekly only. Working more than 8 hours in a single day does not, on its own, trigger overtime in Ontario, unless a contract or collective agreement says otherwise.

The overtime rate in Ontario is 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay for every hour worked past 44 in the week. Ontario also allows an employer and employee to agree in writing to banked time off instead of cash overtime, at a rate of 1.5 hours of paid time off for every overtime hour worked, provided the employee genuinely consents and the time off is used within the timeframe the ESA sets out.

Alberta's 8/44 Rule

Alberta's Employment Standards Code uses what is commonly called the 8/44 rule. Overtime in Alberta is whichever is greater: the hours worked over 8 in a day, or the hours worked over 44 in a week. Both are calculated, and the employee is paid overtime for whichever threshold produces more overtime hours in that week.

Alberta's overtime rate is also 1.5 times the regular wage rate. Instead of cash overtime, Alberta employers and employees can agree to banked time off, generally at a rate of at least 1 hour of paid time off for each overtime hour worked, to be used within a set window after the pay period in which it was earned.

British Columbia's Daily and Weekly Overtime

British Columbia's Employment Standards Act layers daily and weekly overtime together, and it is the only province on this list with a second, higher overtime rate. Standard hours in British Columbia are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. An employee working past that gets 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 8 in a day up to 12 hours, and double time for any hours worked past 12 in a single day.

British Columbia also pays 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a week, but daily and weekly overtime are not both counted on the same hours. Only the first 8 hours worked in a day count toward the 40-hour weekly total, so an employee is paid the highest applicable rate for a given hour, not a stacked combination of daily and weekly premiums.

Quebec's 40-Hour Standard Work Week

Quebec's Act respecting labour standards sets the standard work week at 40 hours. Once an employee has worked 40 hours in a week, additional hours must be paid at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate (commonly described as a 50% premium on top of the base rate), enforced by the CNESST.

A small number of sectors in Quebec have their own standard work week set by regulation rather than the general 40-hour rule, including certain live-in caregivers and some remote-camp and agricultural roles. As in other provinces, Quebec also allows overtime to be replaced with paid time off equal to 1.5 hours for every overtime hour worked, if both the employer and employee agree in writing.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Atlantic Canada

Saskatchewan and Manitoba both use an 8-hours-a-day, 40-hours-a-week standard, similar in structure to Alberta's approach but with a lower weekly number. In Saskatchewan, an employee scheduled on 8-hour shifts earns overtime past 8 hours in a day, while an employee on a four-day, 10-hour-shift schedule earns overtime past 10 hours in a day instead; either way, Saskatchewan pays overtime on whichever is greater, the daily or the weekly threshold. Manitoba uses a straightforward 8-hours-a-day or 40-hours-a-week rule. Both provinces pay overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate.

Atlantic Canada is less uniform. Newfoundland and Labrador sets its standard work week at 40 hours with no separate daily rule, so overtime there starts after 40 hours in a week. Like New Brunswick, its statutory overtime floor is 1.5 times the minimum wage rather than 1.5 times the employee's own wage. Prince Edward Island uses a 44-hour weekly threshold at 1.5 times the regular rate, after its threshold dropped from 48 hours to 44 hours in a week under a new Employment Standards Act. New Brunswick also uses a 44-hour weekly threshold, but its statutory overtime floor is set at 1.5 times the minimum wage rather than the employee's own wage, so a higher-paid worker may be guaranteed only the minimum-wage-based rate unless a contract provides more. Nova Scotia is the outlier, with a 48-hour weekly threshold, higher than every other province on this page, also paid at 1.5 times the regular rate. Because Atlantic provincial rules have moved in recent years, anyone relying on a specific number for one of these provinces should confirm it against that province's current employment standards office before treating it as final.

Common Overtime Exemptions

Every province and territory exempts some categories of employees from its overtime rules, and the exemptions are one of the most misunderstood parts of overtime law in Canada. The most common exemption, in nearly every jurisdiction, covers managers and supervisors whose work is genuinely managerial or supervisory in character. In Ontario, for example, that exemption is written narrowly: an employee only loses overtime protection if their non-managerial tasks are performed on an irregular or exceptional basis, not as part of their regular job.

A job title alone never decides whether an exemption applies. Someone with the title "manager" who spends most of a shift doing the same non-managerial tasks as the staff they supervise is often still entitled to overtime, regardless of what their business card says. Other common exemptions across provinces include certain licensed professionals (lawyers, engineers, and similar regulated roles in some provinces), some agricultural and farm workers, commissioned salespeople in specific fields, and employees who genuinely control their own hours of work. Because these categories are not defined identically from province to province, the exemption details for any specific job should be checked against that province's own employment standards legislation.

Averaging Agreements and Banked Overtime

Overtime is generally based on hours actually worked, but most provinces let employers and employees change how those hours are counted through two common tools. An averaging agreement (sometimes called a modified work arrangement) spreads an employee's scheduled hours over more than one week, so that a longer shift on one day does not automatically trigger overtime, provided the arrangement meets the requirements of that province's employment standards office. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Canada Labour Code all permit versions of averaging, generally subject to approval or specific conditions.

Banked overtime lets an employee take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay in cash, usually at a rate of 1.5 hours of time off for every overtime hour worked. Most provinces require a written agreement, genuine employee consent, and a deadline (often three to twelve months) by which the banked time must be used or paid out. Neither an averaging agreement nor a banked-time arrangement can be used to pay an employee less than the applicable overtime rate for hours that genuinely qualify as overtime; they change the timing and form of payment, not the underlying entitlement.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about overtime and hours-of-work rules across Canada. It is not legal advice and does not cover every industry-specific exemption, averaging arrangement, or recent legislative change in every province or territory. Overtime thresholds, rates, and exemptions can change, and Atlantic Canada in particular has seen recent updates. Anyone with a specific overtime question should confirm the current rule with their province's or territory's employment standards office, or consult a qualified employment lawyer, before relying on it. For related background, see Canadian law by province.