Overtime Pay Calculator
Overtime is set province by province, and the rules are not variations on a theme — there are four genuinely different calculation models across Canada. Thresholds run from 40 hours a week in BC, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland to 48 in Nova Scotia. Only BC pays double time. And in New Brunswick and Newfoundland the overtime rate is based on the minimum wage, not your own, so a high earner gets no premium at all. The same 53-hour week at $25 is worth $1,487.50 in BC and $1,325.00 in New Brunswick.
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What you are owed in BC, Alberta and Ontario
- British Columbia $1,487.50 highest
- Saskatchewan $1,487.50 tied
- Manitoba $1,487.50 tied
- Quebec $1,487.50 tied
- Alberta $1,437.50 −$50.00
- Ontario $1,437.50 −$50.00
- Prince Edward Island $1,437.50 −$50.00
- Nova Scotia $1,387.50 −$100.00
- New Brunswick $1,325.00 −$162.50
- Newfoundland and Labrador $1,325.00 −$162.50
British Columbia
$1,487.50
gross pay for 53 hours, including $162.50 of overtime premium
- Regular pay40 hrs × $25.00
- $1,000.00
- Overtime at 1.5×13 hrs × $25.00 base
- $487.50
- Double time at 2×0 hrs × $50.00
- $0.00
How this was calculated
- Daily overtime — hours over 8 in a dayMon 10h, Tue 10h, Wed 9h, Thu 10h, Fri 9h → 8 hours at 1.5×
- Double time — hours over 12 in a dayNo day went over 12 hours.
- Weekly count — only the first 8 hours of each day (s. 40(3))8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 5 = 45 hours counted
- Weekly overtime — counted hours over 4045 − 40 = 5 hours at 1.5×
Alberta
$1,437.50
gross pay for 53 hours, including $112.50 of overtime premium
- Regular pay44 hrs × $25.00
- $1,100.00
- Overtime at 1.5×9 hrs × $25.00 base
- $337.50
How this was calculated
- Daily test — hours over 8 on each day, added upMon 10h → 2, Tue 10h → 2, Wed 9h → 1, Thu 10h → 2, Fri 9h → 1 = 8 hours
- Weekly test — hours over 44 in the week53 − 44 = 9 hours
- Take the greater of the two — never the sumgreater of 8 and 9 = 9 overtime hours at 1.5×
Ontario
$1,437.50
gross pay for 53 hours, including $112.50 of overtime premium
- Regular pay44 hrs × $25.00
- $1,100.00
- Overtime at 1.5×9 hrs × $25.00 base
- $337.50
How this was calculated
- Total hours worked this week53 hours
- Ontario overtime threshold (s. 22(1))Overtime starts after 44 hours in a work week. Ontario has no daily overtime, so a long single day does not trigger it on its own.
- Overtime hours53 − 44 = 9 hours at 1.5×
British Columbia: $1,487.50 for 53 hours. Alberta: $1,437.50 for 53 hours. Saskatchewan: $1,487.50 for 53 hours. Manitoba: $1,487.50 for 53 hours. Ontario: $1,437.50 for 53 hours. Quebec: $1,487.50 for 53 hours. New Brunswick: $1,325.00 for 53 hours. Nova Scotia: $1,387.50 for 53 hours. Prince Edward Island: $1,437.50 for 53 hours. Newfoundland and Labrador: $1,325.00 for 53 hours.
- 10provinces compared
- 4different rule models
- $0to use, no signup
Overtime rules compared: BC, Alberta and Ontario
| British Columbia | Alberta | Ontario | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily threshold | 8 hours → 1.5× | 8 hours → 1.5× | None |
| Double time | 12 hours → 2.0× | None | None |
| Weekly threshold | 40 hours → 1.5× | 44 hours → 1.5× | 44 hours → 1.5× |
| How daily and weekly combine | Both apply; weekly counts only the first 8 hrs/day | Greater of the two, never the sum | Weekly only |
| Max averaging period | 4 weeks | 52 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Banked time ratio | 1.5 hrs off per OT hour | 1 hr off per OT hour | 1.5 hrs off per OT hour |
| Minimum wage | $18.25 | $15.00 | $17.60 |
| Overtime floor (1.5× min wage) | $27.38 | $22.50 | $26.40 |
Three genuinely different models sit behind those numbers, and they are not variations on a theme.
- British Columbia runs two tests simultaneously. A long day earns overtime on its own, and a long week earns overtime on top — with s. 40(3) capping the weekly count at 8 hours per day so no hour is paid twice. BC is the only one of the three with a double-time tier.
- Alberta runs a comparison. Both tests are computed, and you are paid on whichever gives more hours. Adding them together is the classic error.
- Ontario runs one test. Hours over 44 in the week, and nothing else. No daily overtime exists in the Act at any threshold.
Where the differences actually bite
The spread on a typical overtime week is smaller than people expect, but the spread on an unusual week is large. Compare a week of five 12-hour shifts — 60 hours — at $28 an hour:
| Province | Overtime hours | Total pay |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 20 (all daily) | $1,960.00 |
| Alberta | 20 (greater of 20 daily, 16 weekly) | $1,960.00 |
| Ontario | 16 (weekly only) | $1,904.00 |
That is a $56 gap on one week. The pay difference is smaller than the hours difference suggests, because Ontario's higher 44-hour threshold means four more hours are paid at the regular rate before overtime starts — it partly offsets the missing daily test. Where the daily threshold really tells is in the shape of the week: BC and Alberta both find 20 overtime hours here, Ontario finds 16.
Run the other direction and BC's double-time tier separates it from everywhere else. A single 16-hour day pays 8 hours regular, 4 at 1.5× and 4 at 2× in British Columbia. In Alberta the same day is 8 regular and 8 at 1.5×. In Ontario, if the week ends under 44 hours, it is 16 hours of straight time.
Which province's rules apply to you
Employment standards follow where the work is performed, not where your employer is headquartered or where payroll is processed. If you work in Calgary for a company based in Toronto, Alberta's rules govern your overtime.
A collective agreement can also displace the statutory rules. In BC, s. 3 of the Act provides that a collective agreement containing any provision about hours of work or overtime replaces Part 4 outright. If you are unionized, read your agreement before you read this page.
What is true in every province
- Overtime is owed on hours your employer allowed, not only hours it ordered. "I never approved that overtime" is generally not a defence where the employer knew the work was being done.
- Job title does not determine the managerial exemption. Every one of these provinces defines it by what you actually spend your time doing. A supervisor who mostly does the same work as their team is usually still entitled to overtime.
- Salary does not remove the entitlement. Being salaried changes how your regular rate is calculated, not whether you get overtime.
- Overtime is not taxed at a higher rate. It is ordinary employment income. Heavy cheques are often over-withheld because payroll annualizes the period, and that reconciles when you file.
- Banked time has a deadline everywhere. Let it lapse and it converts to a pay obligation — which in Alberta is worth more than the time off was.
How long you have to claim unpaid overtime
If you have already been underpaid, the deadline that matters is not the one people usually quote. Every province runs two separate clocks: how long you have to file, and how far back the money can actually be recovered. The second is almost always shorter, and it is the one that determines what you get.
| British Columbia | Alberta | Ontario | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline while still employed | None set | None set | 2 years from the contravention |
| Deadline after employment ends | 6 months from last day | 6 months from last day | 2 years from the contravention |
| How far back overtime is recoverable | 12 months | 6 months | 2 years |
| Measured from | Earlier of complaint or termination | Earlier of claim or termination | Complaint filing date |
| Deadline extendable? | Yes, at the director's discretion | No | No |
| Cost to file | Free | Free (set in the Code itself) | No fee prescribed |
Frequently asked questions
Is overtime after 8 hours or 40 hours in Canada?
It depends entirely on the province, because employment standards are provincial. British Columbia uses 8 hours a day and 40 a week together. Alberta uses 8 a day or 44 a week, whichever produces more overtime. Ontario uses 44 a week only, with no daily threshold at all. Federally regulated employees follow the Canada Labour Code at 8 a day or 40 a week.
Which province has the best overtime rules?
British Columbia, on almost any measure. It is the only one of the three largest provinces with a daily threshold that stacks with the weekly one, the only one with a statutory double-time tier at 12 hours a day, and it has the lowest weekly threshold at 40 hours rather than 44. It also has the highest minimum wage of any province, which raises the statutory overtime floor. (Nunavut and Yukon are higher still.)
Which province has the worst overtime rules?
Alberta and Ontario each have a claim, for different reasons. Ontario has no daily overtime at all, so long days earn nothing extra unless the week exceeds 44 hours. Alberta has a daily threshold but takes the greater of the two tests rather than both, and it banks overtime at 1 hour off per overtime hour rather than 1.5. Alberta also has the lowest minimum wage in Canada at $15.00, frozen since 2018.
Which province's overtime rules apply if I work remotely?
Generally the province where you physically perform the work, not where your employer is located or where payroll runs. A remote employee working from Vancouver for an Ontario company is usually covered by BC employment standards. Cross-border and multi-province arrangements can get genuinely complicated, and it is worth confirming with the employment standards branch of the province you work in.
Do salaried employees get overtime in Canada?
Usually yes. In every province covered here, being paid a salary changes how your regular rate is calculated but does not by itself remove your overtime entitlement. What removes it is falling into a statutory exemption — genuine managerial work, certain licensed professions, and technology roles. All three provinces exempt tech workers, under different names and different tests: Ontario's "information technology professional", Alberta's identically worded "information systems professional", and BC's "high technology professional", which is a narrower four-limb test that expressly carves out basic operational technical support.
Can my employer refuse to pay overtime I was not told to work?
Generally not, if the employer knew or ought to have known the work was being done. BC's Act, for example, is triggered where an employer "requires, or directly or indirectly allows" an employee to work beyond the thresholds. Employers can lawfully require pre-approval for overtime and discipline employees who ignore it — but they still have to pay for the hours actually worked.
How far back can I claim unpaid overtime in Canada?
It varies enormously and it is shorter than most people assume. Ontario allows recovery of wages that became due within two years before the complaint. British Columbia allows 12 months, measured from the earlier of the complaint date or the termination date. Alberta allows only 6 months for wages and overtime, also from the earlier of those two dates — the shortest window in the country. In BC and Alberta, waiting after you leave a job cannot expand what you recover, because the window is anchored to your last day.
Is overtime pay taxed at a higher rate?
No. Overtime is ordinary employment income and is taxed at exactly the same rates as your regular pay. What people notice is a withholding artifact: payroll systems typically calculate deductions as though every pay period matched the one containing the overtime, which over-withholds on a large cheque. The excess comes back at tax time.
Sources
Every rate, threshold and formula on this page was verified against these primary sources. If a figure here disagrees with one of them, the source is right and we want to know.