When July 1 falls on a Sunday, Canada’s statutory Canada Day holiday is July 2.
This rule dates to Canada’s early holiday legislation. The Dominion Day Act of 1879 established July 1 as the legal holiday marking Confederation, but specifically provided that July 2 would be observed instead when July 1 fell on a Sunday. Dominion Day was renamed Canada Day in 1982.
The Sunday provision prevents the national holiday from disappearing into the weekend. It is easy to confuse this rule with the general practice used by some employers or jurisdictions, where a weekend holiday may be observed on the next working day. Holiday administration can vary by province, territory, workplace, or collective agreement, but July 2 is the canonical answer to this wording.
Canada Day commemorates the creation of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867, when the Constitution Act, 1867 united Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The date is therefore fixed in law even when the day off is shifted.