Overtime Pay in Canada: Daily & Weekly Thresholds by Province

Overtime rules in Canada depend on the province or sector where you work. A single 10-hour shift triggers two hours of daily overtime in British Columbia, Alberta (unless weekly overtime is higher), and federally regulated industries, while in Ontario statutory overtime starts only after 44 hours in a work week.

PART 1: Where overtime starts — Ontario, BC, Alberta, and federal jobs

The numbers below are the general statutory baselines for non-exempt employees as of our last check. Every threshold is also tracked continuously on our Pay and rights Facts pages, and workers can run daily shift hours through the Canadian Overtime & Statutory Holiday Pay Calculator.

Ontario (Employment Standards Act, 2000)

• Daily overtime threshold: None. Working a 10-hour or 12-hour day in Ontario does not trigger statutory overtime on its own.
• Weekly overtime threshold: After 44 hours worked in a single work week, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay.
• Averaging and banking: In Ontario, hours can be averaged across two to four weeks only if the employee and employer made a written averaging agreement (for non-union employees, an averaging agreement must have an expiry date no more than two years after it starts). Paid time off instead of overtime pay also requires a written agreement and is banked at 1.5 hours of paid time off per overtime hour worked.

British Columbia (Employment Standards Act)

• Daily overtime threshold: 1.5 times regular pay after 8 hours worked in a day, and 2.0 times (double time) after 12 hours worked in a day.
• Weekly overtime threshold: 1.5 times regular pay after 40 hours worked in a week (counting only the first 8 hours worked each day toward the 40-hour weekly threshold so daily and weekly overtime are not double-counted).
• Averaging and banking: In British Columbia, an averaging agreement must be in writing, signed before the start date, specify the schedule and number of weeks (one to four), and provide an expiry date for non-union workers. If an employee asks in writing to open a time bank, overtime wages are credited to the bank at the 1.5x or 2.0x overtime rate, not straight time.

Alberta (Employment Standards Code)

• Daily and weekly threshold (“8 or 44, whichever is greater”): In Alberta, overtime is calculated both ways each week — hours worked over 8 hours a day added up across the week, OR hours worked over 44 hours in the work week — and the employer must count whichever total is greater.
• Overtime pay rate: When paid on a paycheque, overtime pay is at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular wage rate.
• The Alberta banked-time difference: Under a written overtime agreement in Alberta, banked time off taken instead of overtime pay is credited at 1.0 hour of paid time off per overtime hour worked (straight time, 1:1), and must be provided and used within 6 months of the end of the pay period in which it was earned (if not used in time, it must be paid out at 1.5x).

Federally regulated workplaces (Canada Labour Code, Part III)

• Who this covers: Banks, airlines and airports, telecoms and broadcasting, interprovincial trucking and rail, marine shipping, postal and courier services, and federal Crown corporations.
• Daily and weekly threshold: Standard hours are 8 hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. Hours worked beyond standard hours are paid at at least 1.5 times the regular rate of wages.
• Banked time and refusal right: Under Part III of the Canada Labour Code, a written overtime time-off agreement credits 1.5 hours of paid time off for each overtime hour worked. Federally regulated employees also have a statutory right under section 174.1 to refuse overtime in limited circumstances to carry out family responsibilities for health, education, or care of a family member, after taking reasonable steps first.

PART 2: Three workplace myths that cost workers money

Myth 1: “You are on an annual salary, so you don’t get overtime.”

What the statutes actually say: Salary is just a method of paying wages — it is not an overtime exemption. In Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and federally regulated workplaces, non-exempt salaried employees earn overtime once their hours cross the statutory threshold (their regular hourly rate is calculated from their salary according to the applicable statute).

True managerial exemptions: Across all four jurisdictions, genuine managers and supervisors are generally exempt from statutory overtime, along with specific listed professions and regulated sectors (such as certain IT professionals, farm workers, construction roadbuilding, or long-haul/local trucking categories with distinct hour thresholds). Crucially, labour offices look at actual daily duties — such as hiring, firing, scheduling, and independent authority — rather than whether “Assistant Manager” or “Team Lead” was printed on a business card.

Myth 2: “Overtime wasn’t pre-approved in writing, so it doesn’t have to be paid.”

What the statutes actually say: In Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and federally regulated workplaces, an employer can set workplace rules requiring pre-approval for overtime and can manage or discipline scheduling rules going forward — but once overtime work is permitted or suffered to be done, the wages earned for those hours cannot be withheld.

Myth 3: “Working 50 hours this week and 30 next week cancels out to 80.”

What the statutes actually say: Without a valid written averaging agreement that meets every statutory rule in that jurisdiction (or a collective agreement / statutory averaging schedule), an employer cannot average a busy week against a quiet week on its own. In Ontario without a written averaging agreement, 50 hours in Week 1 and 30 hours in Week 2 equals 6 hours of overtime in Week 1, not zero.

PART 3: How to ask payroll to check missing overtime

If a pay stub paid extra hours at straight time (1.0x) instead of 1.5x — or averaged two weeks without a written agreement — send one calm, dated check-in:

Copy, fill in, sendCopy template

Subject: Overtime calculation check — pay period [start date] to [end date] — [your full name]

Hello [Manager or Payroll name],

I am checking my pay statement for the period from [start date] to [end date].

During the work week of [week start] to [week end], I worked [total hours] hours ([list daily hours, e.g., Mon 10 hrs, Tue 10 hrs, Wed 9 hrs, Thu 9 hrs, Fri 8 hrs]). On my pay statement, all hours appear at straight time rather than [44-hour weekly / 8-hour daily / 40-hour weekly] overtime at 1.5x.

Could you please check how the overtime hours were calculated for that week and let me know when any adjustment will appear?

Thank you, [Your full name] · [Employee ID or phone number]

If the difference remains unresolved, see our step-by-step guide to free government wage claims and filing deadlines (6 months in BC, Alberta, and federal jobs; 2 years in Ontario) on the Moves index, and check your province’s special-industry rules first on the Pay and rights Facts pages.

Where these rules stop. The thresholds above cover standard non-exempt employees in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and federally regulated workplaces. Special statutory rules or higher hour thresholds apply to listed occupations and industries — for example, taxi drivers in Alberta (over 10 hours/day or 60 hours/week), certain trucking, agricultural, residential care, IT, and construction categories across provinces, and app-based gig drivers (who follow platform-specific rules rather than standard employee overtime). Workers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have their own provincial or territorial overtime thresholds (for instance, 40 hours/week in several provinces, 48 hours/week in Nova Scotia). Quebec is not covered on this page (Quebec workplace rules will be added alongside a French edition). Unionized workers check their collective agreement first.

Free help contacts

Sources

• Ontario: Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41, Part VIII; Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Overtime pay and Industries and jobs with exemptions or special rules. Last checked 2026-11-11.
• British Columbia: Employment Standards Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 113, Part 4; Province of British Columbia, Overtime pay and Exclusions from Hours of Work & Overtime Requirements — Regulation Part 7, Section 34. Last checked 2026-11-11.
• Alberta: Employment Standards Code, R.S.A. 2000, c. E-9, Part 2 Division 4; Government of Alberta, Employment standards rules – Overtime hours and overtime pay and Taxi cab drivers – Employment standards exceptions. Last checked 2026-11-11.
• Federal: Canada Labour Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. L-2, s. 169 (standard hours), s. 174 (overtime pay and time off), and s. 174.1 (right to refuse overtime for family responsibilities); Employment and Social Development Canada, Exemptions from and modifications to hours of work provisions. Last checked 2026-11-11.

iamonmybreak publishes general information for working people. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your own situation. Rules differ by province and country and change over time; the date at the top of this piece is when we last checked. For your specific case, especially anything involving money you are owed, contact a free community legal clinic or your provincial or territorial labour standards office.