Continuous formNovember 9, 2026
Canada's DailyOne sheet, printed each morning

The almanac

Dates that come back, and who owns them

The sheet carries nine standing lines. This page carries the working notes behind them: what each date actually governs, where the governing document sits, and the mistake that readers most often make with it.

The nine lines

Printed in order of the fiscal year

  1. Line 01

    Federal fiscal year

    1 April to 31 March

    Main and supplementary estimates, departmental plans and public accounts all run on this year, not the calendar year. A spending figure quoted without its fiscal year is a figure without a date.

    Owner: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

  2. Line 02

    Personal income tax

    Filed and paid by 30 April

    The deadline is 30 April for most filers. Self-employed filers have until 15 June to file but still owe by 30 April, which is the part most summaries leave out.

    Owner: Canada Revenue Agency

  3. Line 03

    Labour Force Survey

    Monthly, about three weeks after the reference week

    The reference week contains the 15th of the month. The release lands on a Friday morning, and the headline unemployment rate is the number most citations use. The survey covers the civilian, non-institutional population aged 15 and over.

    Owner: Statistics Canada

  4. Line 04

    Policy interest rate

    Eight fixed announcement dates a year

    The target for the overnight rate is set on published dates, with a monetary policy report four times a year. Between dates the rate does not change, whatever a headline suggests.

    Owner: Bank of Canada

  5. Line 05

    House of Commons sitting calendar

    Sitting weeks set each session

    The calendar is published by the House and can be changed by the government. Adjournment dates move. A story that says the House rises on a given day without checking the calendar is guessing.

    Owner: House of Commons

  6. Line 06

    GST/HST remittance

    One month after the reporting period

    Reporting frequency depends on revenue. Monthly, quarterly and annual filers all remit one month after their period closes, which means the same rule produces different dates for different businesses.

    Owner: Canada Revenue Agency

  7. Line 07

    Census of Population

    Every five years, next cycle 2031

    The count runs in May of the census year, with the first population and dwelling releases the following February. Municipal population figures used in funding formulas come from this count, not from estimates.

    Owner: Statistics Canada

  8. Line 08

    Provincial budgets

    Spring, dates vary

    Most provinces table a budget in spring, but the dates are not coordinated and minority governments can move them. A national comparison has to name the date each budget was tabled.

    Owner: Provincial and territorial finance departments

  9. Line 09

    General holidays

    Nine days under the Canada Labour Code

    New Year, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day and Christmas. Provincial holiday lists differ, and federally regulated workplaces follow the federal list.

    Owner: Employment and Social Development Canada

Reading a date correctly

Three habits stop most date errors before they reach a reader. Name the fiscal year whenever a figure is a government figure. Name the reporting period whenever a figure is a survey figure. Name the office whenever a date can be moved by a minister or a cabinet.

A fourth habit is harder and worth the effort: separate a deadline from a release. The tax deadline is a date a filer must meet. The labour force release is a date a statistical agency must meet. They look alike in a sentence and behave nothing alike when one slips.

The almanac is reprinted whenever an owner changes a rule. If a reader finds a line here that no longer matches the instrument, the intake form is the fastest route to a correction, and the correction will be printed with its date.

How corrections are marked

Pinned dated slips and a printed calendar on a wall above a desk
Wall slips, one per line, replaced at the reset.Plate 5

Dates the sheet will not carry

A date enters the sheet only when an office has published it. Rumoured election dates, expected cabinet shuffles and projected budget days do not qualify, even when several reporters agree about them. The desk prints what is on the record and leaves the rest to the columns it does not run.

The one exception is a scheduled event whose date is set by statute but whose content is not yet public, such as a fixed rate announcement. The date goes on the sheet. The decision does not, until it is announced.