Boxing Day 2026 is on Saturday, December 26. Ottawa stores can open and CF Rideau Centre has it listed as 9 am to 9 pm. Most stores in Gatineau can only open from 1 pm to 5 pm. OC Transpo and the City of Ottawa had not released their holiday schedules when we checked.
Short answer: most Ottawa stores can open
Boxing Day 2026 is on Saturday, December 26. Most stores and malls in Ottawa can open on Boxing Day. Boxing Day is not listed as a closing day in Ontario's law for retail businesses, and CF Rideau Centre has Boxing Day hours listed as 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. Individual stores set their own hours, so make sure to check before visiting.
Gatineau has different rules. Under Quebec law, most stores can only open to the public from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on December 26 if it falls on a Saturday, as it does in 2026. Grocery stores, restaurants and stores that mainly sell pharmacy products can open at other times.
All information on this page was checked on 2026-10-29. OC Transpo had not released their bus and O-Train schedule for the holiday, and the City of Ottawa had not released their holiday schedule either. We could not confirm hours for most other malls. We have marked each one below.
Mall and store hours on Boxing Day in Ottawa
Ontario has Boxing Day as one of its nine public holidays under the Employment Standards Act. It is not one of the days that the Retail Business Holidays Act makes most stores close. The Act lists New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day as closing days, plus any holiday added by proclamation. So stores in Ottawa can legally open on December 26.
CF Rideau Centre's holiday hours page lists Boxing Day (December 26) hours as 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. It also lists Christmas Eve hours as 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Christmas Day as closed. The Act also states that a lease cannot require a store to open on December 26. So some stores inside a mall may be closed while the mall is open.
As of 2026-10-29 we could not confirm Boxing Day 2026 hours for other malls in Ottawa, such as Bayshore, St. Laurent, Place d'Orleans, Tanger Outlets and Carlingwood. Check each mall's hours page in December. We have a list of the best malls in Ottawa that links to each one.
Restaurants and grocery stores on Boxing Day
Since Boxing Day is not a closing day for retail businesses in Ontario, grocery stores in Ottawa can open. Each restaurant and grocery chain will set its own hours for Boxing Day, so make sure to check before you visit.
Our place data was pulled from Google Maps on 2026-10-29. It only contains regular weekly hours and does not include holiday hours. Use our lists of best grocery stores in Ottawa, best restaurants, brunch and fast food to find a place and then check their holiday hours. Normal Saturday hours on Google Maps may not be the same as hours on December 26.
Pharmacies open on Boxing Day
Pharmacies in Ottawa can open on Boxing Day without a special exemption, because it is not a retail closing day. Each pharmacy will set its own hours that day.
On closing days in Ontario such as Christmas Day, pharmacies can open only if prescriptions are available. They also have to mainly sell pharmacy, health or hygiene products and have less than 7,500 square feet of selling space. Boxing Day is not a closing day, so pharmacies do not have to meet those conditions. To find a pharmacy open near you, check the store's own page or call before you go.
OC Transpo, the library and city services
OC Transpo had not released their bus and O-Train schedule for Boxing Day 2026 as of 2026-10-29. Their service changes page only listed holidays up to Remembrance Day. Para Transpo has released their plan, and recurring trips on Saturday, December 26 will be cancelled automatically. You can book a trip for that day starting Saturday, December 19 by calling 613-560-5000 from 7 am to 5 pm or through My Para Transpo.
The Ottawa Public Library lists Saturday, December 26 (Boxing Day) as a statutory holiday in 2026. They do not list what hours the branches will be open that day, so check before you go. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve hours are 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at all branches.
We could not find the City of Ottawa's 2026 holiday schedule for garbage and green bin collection, client service centres, City Hall or recreation and skating when we checked. Check ottawa.ca in December for more information. The NCC states that the Rideau Canal Skateway season usually runs from January to early March depending on weather, so it is unlikely to be open on Boxing Day.
What's open in Gatineau on Boxing Day
December 26 is not a statutory holiday in Quebec. However, Quebec's law on store hours does state that if December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, most stores can only allow the public in from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Since Boxing Day 2026 is on a Saturday, expect most stores in Gatineau to be open from 1 pm to 5 pm.
There are three exceptions. Grocery stores, which mainly sell food, can open outside of these hours. So can restaurants and take-out places. Stores that mainly sell pharmacy, hygiene or sanitary products, newspapers, books or tobacco can also open outside these hours. STO buses list December 25 as a special service day and do not list December 26, so we expect a normal Saturday schedule. We could not find any information on Gatineau city service hours for December 26 when we checked.
Questions and answers
What stores are open on Boxing Day in Ottawa?
Most stores in Ottawa can open on Boxing Day, because it is not a closing day for retail businesses under Ontario law. Each store sets its own hours. CF Rideau Centre lists Boxing Day hours as 9 am to 9 pm.
Are shops open on Boxing Day in Gatineau?
Yes, but only for a short window. Since Boxing Day 2026 is on a Saturday, most stores in Gatineau can only open from 1 pm to 5 pm. Grocery stores, restaurants and stores that mainly sell pharmacy products can open at other times.
Is there a pharmacy open near me on Boxing Day?
Yes, pharmacies can open on Boxing Day in Ottawa. Each pharmacy sets its own hours, so check your store's page or call it before you go.
What are Rideau Centre's Boxing Day hours?
CF Rideau Centre lists Boxing Day hours as 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on Saturday, December 26 on its visitor info page. Some stores inside may have different hours.
Is OC Transpo running on Boxing Day 2026?
OC Transpo had not released their schedule for Boxing Day 2026 as of 2026-10-29. Para Transpo recurring trips on that day will be cancelled automatically. You can book a trip for that day starting December 19.
Sources
- OC Transpo: Para Transpo holiday service. Checked .
- OC Transpo: Service changes. Checked .
- Ontario: Your guide to the Employment Standards Act, public holidays. Checked .
- Ontario: Retail Business Holidays Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.30. Checked .
- CF Rideau Centre: Visitor info and hours. Checked .
- Ottawa Public Library: Statutory holiday hours. Checked .
- CNESST: Statutory holidays in Quebec. Checked .
- LegisQuebec: Act respecting hours and days of admission to commercial establishments (H-2.1). Checked .
- STO: Jours feries et services speciaux. Checked .
- NCC: Rideau Canal Skateway. Checked .