Jurisdiction assumptions — Critical Dates

This is the full reference of the assumptions behind every legal-deadline Athenty suggests, for all 13 Canadian jurisdictions. The “Calculate legal deadlines” tool on a matter uses these to compute a suggested critical date from a triggering event (e.g. statement of claim served).

Suggested — verify. Not legal advice.

Every date Athenty produces is suggested and must be verified by the responsible licensed professional against the current Rules and the specific facts of the matter. It is not legal advice — and that does not change now that the rulesets have been reviewed. All 13 jurisdictions’ citations were signed off by counsel on 2026-07-12 and show Attorney reviewed; that badge means the citation behind the rule was checked, not that the suggested date is right for your matter. A jurisdiction added or materially changed later starts again at Attorney review pending. You can adjust the assumptions below per jurisdiction — see Varying the assumptions.

How a deadline is counted

Unless a jurisdiction’s own rule differs, Athenty counts every period the same way — the common Canadian civil-procedure model:

Assumption	Default behaviour
First / last day	Exclude the day of the triggering event, include the last day (exclude-first / include-last).
Saturdays	Treated as closed (a registry-closed, non-counting day).
Sundays & holidays	Non-counting; a deadline that lands on one rolls forward to the next open day.
Short periods (under 7 days)	Exclude holidays from the count.
Holiday set	Each jurisdiction uses its court / Interpretation Act computation “holiday” list — not the employment statutory-holiday list. These differ on purpose (for example, Thanksgiving is a court holiday in Ontario but not in British Columbia).

“Holidays” throughout this page means the computation definition (the province’s Interpretation Act / Legislation Act / Rules of Court), which is what governs deadline math — not the paid stat-holiday list employees get.

Jurisdiction assumptions

Provinces and territories, with the computation holiday set, the defence/response period (by where the originating document was served, where that matters), the appeal period, and the limitation/prescription period.

Jurisdiction	Computation holidays — notable, intentional differences	Defence / response	Appeal	Limitation
Ontario	RCP r. 1.03 — incl. Easter Monday, Thanksgiving, the August Civic Holiday	Defence RCP 18.01 — 20 / 40 / 60 days (Ontario / elsewhere in Canada & US / outside)	RCP 61.04 — 30 days	Limitations Act, 2002 s. 4 — 2 years
British Columbia	Interpretation Act s. 29 — incl. Family Day, BC Day, Sept 30; excludes Thanksgiving	Response SCCR 3-3 — 21 / 35 / 49 days (Canada / US / elsewhere)	Court of Appeal — 30 days from pronouncement	Limitation Act (2012) s. 6 — 2 years
Alberta	Interpretation Act s. 28 — incl. Easter Monday, Family Day, Thanksgiving; no Heritage Day / Sept 30; Dec 26 → 27 rule	Defence Rules of Court 3.31 — 20 days (AB) / 1 month (Canada) / 2 months (outside)	Court of Appeal — 1 month	Limitations Act s. 3 — 2 years (10-yr ultimate)
Saskatchewan	Legislation Act (2019) — incl. Saskatchewan Day, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day; no Easter Monday; Sunday-only shift	King’s Bench — 20 / 30 / 40 days	Court of Appeal — 30 days	Limitations Act (2004) s. 5 — 2 years
Manitoba	Interpretation Act s. 23 — incl. Louis Riel Day, Sept 30, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day; no Easter Monday / August Civic	King’s Bench 18.01 — 20 / 40 / 60 days	Court of Appeal — 30 days	Limitations Act (2021) s. 6 — 2 years
Nova Scotia	Interpretation Act s. 235 — incl. Heritage Day, Thanksgiving; no Boxing Day / Easter Monday / Natal Day; Sunday-only shift	Civil Procedure Rules — 15 / 30 / 45 days	Court of Appeal — 25 business days	Limitation of Actions Act (2014) s. 8 — 2 years
New Brunswick	Interpretation Act s. 1 — incl. Easter Monday, Family Day, New Brunswick Day, Thanksgiving; no Boxing Day; Sunday-only shift	Rules of Court 20.02 — 20 / 40 / 60 days	Rule 62 — 30 days	Limitation of Actions Act (2009) s. 5 — 2 years
Prince Edward Island	Court set — incl. Islander Day, Victoria Day, Sept 30, Thanksgiving; no Easter Monday / August / Boxing Day	RCP 18.01 (Ontario-modelled) — 20 / 40 / 60 days	Court of Appeal — 30 days for most civil and family decisions (not universal — verify)	Statute of Limitations s. 7 — category-based (~6 years)
Newfoundland & Labrador	Interpretation Act s. 27(1)(l) — incl. Memorial/Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day; no Easter Monday / Sept 30 / St Patrick’s / St George’s / Discovery / Orangemen’s; Sunday-only shift	RSC 1986 r. 10.02 / 6.07(5) — 10 (NL) / 30 (Canada) / 45 (US) / 60 (world) days	Court of Appeal Civil Rules 2025 (NLR 44/25) — 30 days from filing	Limitations Act (1995) — category 2 yr / 6 yr, 30-yr ultimate
Yukon	Interpretation Act s. 21 — incl. Easter Monday, National Indigenous Peoples Day (Jun 21), Discovery Day (3rd Mon Aug), Sept 30; no October Thanksgiving / Boxing Day; Sunday-only shift, Remembrance Day exempt	Rules of Court r. 21(3) + r. 14(2) — appearance + 14 days = 21 / 35 / 42 / 56 (YT / Canada / US / world)	Court of Appeal Act → BC CoA r. 6(2) — 30 days from pronouncement	Limitation of Actions Act c. 139 — accrual 6 yr basic / 2 yr personal injury
Northwest Territories	Interpretation Act (SNWT 2017, c. 19) s. 21 — incl. Easter Monday, National Indigenous Peoples Day, August Civic, Sept 30, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day; full Sat/Sun → Monday roll	Rules of the Supreme Court r. 93 — 25 (NT) / 30 (outside) days, +10 on appearance	Court of Appeal Civil Rules R-091-2018 r. 7 — 30 days from entry + service	Limitation of Actions Act c. L-8 — category 2 yr / 6 yr
Nunavut	Legislation Act (S.Nu. 2020, c. 15) s. 1(1) — incl. Easter Monday, Nunavut Day (Jul 9), August Civic, Sept 30, Thanksgiving, Boxing Day; no National Indigenous Peoples Day; Boxing-Day-Sunday → Tuesday	Rules of the Nunavut Court of Justice r. 93 — 25 (NU) / 30 (outside) days, +10 on appearance	Court of Appeal Civil Rules R-014-2018 r. 7 — 30 days from entry + service	Limitation of Actions Act c. L-8 (inherited) — category 2 yr / 6 yr
Quebec (civil law — distinct regime)	Non-juridical days — CCP art. 82 + Interpretation Act s. 61(23): incl. Jan 2, Easter Monday, St-Jean (Jun 24), Dec 26; no Dec 24 / Dec 31; no weekend Monday-substitution	Answer to the summons CCP art. 145 — 15 days (uniform; no service-location tiers)	CCP arts. 360, 363 — 30 days, strict (right forfeited on expiry)	Civil Code art. 2925 — prescription, 3 years

Quebec is a different regime

Quebec is civil law. It does not use the common-law “statement of defence” or “limitation period”:

• a defendant answers the summons within 15 days (CCP art. 145) and the parties then build a case protocol — there is no statement of defence;
• the appeal period is a strict time limit — the right to appeal is forfeited on expiry (CCP art. 363), extendable only where it was factually impossible to act sooner;
• the limitation is prescription under the Civil Code (art. 2925, 3 years), a civil-law doctrine — not common-law discoverability.

Varying the assumptions (toggle settings)

Most of the counting assumptions above are configurable per jurisdiction for your organization. Open Settings ▸ Critical Date Rules, pick a jurisdiction, and adjust any of:

• Saturday closed — whether Saturday counts as a closed day.
• First/last-day counting — exclude-first/include-last, include-both, etc.
• Short-period holiday handling — whether periods under 7 days exclude holidays.
• Roll forward — whether a deadline landing on a holiday/weekend rolls to the next open day.
• Individual holidays — turn a specific holiday on or off for a jurisdiction (e.g. if a court treats a day differently than the default set).

Nothing changes out of the box — the defaults on this page apply until you flip a toggle. Restore Default reverts any jurisdiction to the Athenty defaults at any time. These settings are admin-gated, and the org-wide Defaults page (Settings ▸ Organization ▸ Defaults) shows everything your organization has customised, with a one-click restore.

PEI appeal period

For most civil and family decisions in PEI the appeal period is 30 days from the order appealed from, subject to extension. Athenty suggests 30 days on that basis.

It is not a universal rule. PEI’s Rules of Civil Procedure are modelled on Ontario’s, but some appeals — and some statutory rights of appeal — run on a different clock, and the period can turn on which court the order came from and what kind of order it is.

Do your own due diligence on the appeal period

A missed appeal deadline is the costliest error this feature can make. Always confirm the appeal period that governs your specific order — against the PEI Court of Appeal rules and the statute creating the right of appeal — before you rely on the suggested date. Athenty’s suggestion is a reminder, not advice.

Sources & authorities

Every assumption above traces to a statute or rule of court. These are the authorities behind each jurisdiction’s holiday set, response/defence period, appeal period, and limitation/prescription — linked to the official text or CanLII.

Reviewed and approved by counsel — 2026-07-12

The critical-date citations on this page were reviewed and approved by counsel on 2026-07-12 (#577 c.64828).

Approval covers the citations. Every suggested date remains “Suggested — verify”: Athenty computes a reminder, it does not give legal advice, and the rules change. Verify every date against the current rule before you rely on it — particularly appeal periods and limitation/prescription.

Jurisdiction	Computation holidays	Response / defence	Appeal	Limitation / prescription
Ontario	RCP r. 1.03	RCP r. 18.01	RCP r. 61.04(1)	Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4
British Columbia	Interpretation Act, RSBC 1996, c. 238, s. 29	SCCR r. 3-3(3)	Court of Appeal Rules	Limitation Act, SBC 2012, c. 13, s. 6
Alberta	Interpretation Act, RSA 2000, c. I-8, s. 28	Rules of Court r. 3.31	Court of Appeal — 1 month	Limitations Act, RSA 2000, c. L-12, s. 3
Saskatchewan	Legislation Act, SS 2019, c. L-10.2	King’s Bench Rules	Court of Appeal — 30 days	Limitations Act, SS 2004, c. L-16.1, s. 5
Manitoba	Interpretation Act, CCSM c. I80, s. 23	King’s Bench Rules r. 18.01	Court of Appeal — 30 days	Limitations Act, SM 2021, c. 44, s. 6
Nova Scotia	Interpretation Act, RSNS 1989, c. 235	Civil Procedure Rules	Court of Appeal — 25 business days	Limitation of Actions Act, SNS 2014, c. 35, s. 8
New Brunswick	Interpretation Act, RSNB 2011, c. 124, s. 1	Rules of Court r. 20.02	Rules of Court r. 62	Limitation of Actions Act, SNB 2009, c. L-8.5, s. 5
Prince Edward Island	Interpretation Act, RSPEI 1988, c. I-8 (+ court practice)	RCP r. 18.01	Court of Appeal — 30 days for most civil & family decisions — not universal; verify	Statute of Limitations, RSPEI 1988, c. S-7
Newfoundland & Labrador	Interpretation Act, RSNL 1990, c. I-19, s. 27(1)(l)	RSC 1986 r. 10.02 / 6.07(5)	Court of Appeal Civil Rules 2025 (NLR 44/25) r. 8(2)	Limitations Act, SNL 1995, c. L-16.1, ss. 5, 6, 9, 22
Yukon	Interpretation Act, RSY 2002, c. 125, s. 21	Rules of Court r. 21(3) + 14(2)	Court of Appeal Act → BC CoA r. 6(2)	Limitation of Actions Act, RSY 2002, c. 139
Northwest Territories	Interpretation Act, SNWT 2017, c. 19, s. 21	Rules of the Supreme Court r. 93	Court of Appeal Rules R-091-2018 r. 7	Limitation of Actions Act, RSNWT 1988, c. L-8
Nunavut	Legislation Act, S.Nu. 2020, c. 15, s. 1(1)	Rules of the Nunavut Court of Justice r. 93	Court of Appeal Rules R-014-2018 r. 7	Limitation of Actions Act, RSNWT (Nu) 1988, c. L-8
Quebec	CCP art. 82 + Interpretation Act s. 61(23)	CCP art. 145	CCP arts. 360, 363	Civil Code art. 2925

The in-app Settings ▸ Critical Date Rules library shows the same citation on each individual rule, with its version and review-due status.

Ontario is built out beyond the representative rules in the table above — see the full Ontario catalogue below.

Ontario — full rule catalogue

Ontario is maintained at greater depth than the other jurisdictions, because it is the primary jurisdiction for most firms on Athenty. Every rule below is computed with the RCP r. 1.03(1) holiday set and the r. 3.01(1) counting model (exclude the first day, include the last; holidays are not counted where the period is seven days or less; a deadline expiring on a holiday moves to the next day that is not a holiday).

Citations were read from the official e-Laws consolidation of the Rules of Civil Procedure (current to 2026-02-01) — not from secondary sources.

Deadline	Runs from	Period	Authority
Statement of defence	Service of the statement of claim	20 / 40 / 60 days (Ontario / elsewhere in Canada or the US / anywhere else)	RCP r. 18.01
Statement of defence, after a notice of intent to defend	Service of the statement of claim	30 / 50 / 70 days (each bucket + 10)	RCP r. 18.02(2)
Serve the statement of claim	Issuance of the claim	6 months	RCP r. 14.08(1)
Reply	Service of the statement of defence	10 days	RCP r. 25.04(3)
Third party claim (as of right)	Delivery of the statement of defence	10 days	RCP r. 29.02(1)
Defence to counterclaim — party already in the action	Service of the defence and counterclaim	20 days	RCP r. 27.05(1)
Defence to counterclaim — new party	Service of the defence and counterclaim	20 / 40 / 60 days	RCP r. 27.05(3)
Reply and defence to counterclaim	Service of the defence and counterclaim	20 days	RCP r. 25.04(3)
Defence to crossclaim	Service of the defence and crossclaim	20 days	RCP r. 28.05(1)
Notice of appeal	Making of the order appealed from	30 days	RCP r. 61.04(1)
Motion for leave to appeal — serve	Making of the order or decision	15 days	RCP r. 61.03.1(3)(a) (Div. Ct. via r. 62.02(3))
Motion for leave to appeal — file	Service of the notice of motion	5 days (holidays not counted)	RCP r. 61.03.1(3)(b)
Set the action down for trial	Commencement of the action	5 years — registrar dismisses for delay after this	RCP r. 48.14(1) para. 1
Small Claims Court defence	Service of the claim	20 days	O. Reg. 258/98 r. 9.01
Basic limitation period — reminder	Discovery of the claim	2 years	Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4
Ultimate limitation period — reminder	The act or omission	15 years	Limitations Act, 2002, s. 15(2)

The two limitation entries are reminders, not computed dates. Discovery under s. 5 is a legal judgment rather than a day-count, and the 15-year backstop is suspended in the circumstances in s. 15(4) (minority, incapacity, wilful concealment) — so neither anniversary is by itself the answer.

Some periods carry exceptions the calculator does not model: a third party claim may also be issued within 10 days after the plaintiff’s reply, or at any time with consent or leave (r. 29.02(1.1)–(1.2)); no defence to crossclaim is needed in the Negligence Act case in r. 28.05(2); and r. 48.14 does not apply to Toronto Commercial List or Class Proceedings Act, 1992 actions (r. 48.14(1.1)). Read the rule, not just the date.

Ontario deadlines Athenty deliberately does not calculate

Two classes of Ontario deadline are left out on purpose, because the calculator would produce a date that is later than the law allows — the dangerous direction. A missing reminder is safe; a wrong one is not.

• “At least N days before” deadlines — notice of motion (RCP r. 37.07(6)), offers to settle (r. 49.10), and expert reports (r. 53.03). These count backwards from a hearing. Athenty’s roll-off-a-holiday step only ever moves a date forward, which on these rules would eat into the minimum notice. Diarize these yourself.
• Statutory notice periods — the 60-day snow-and-ice notice (Occupiers’ Liability Act, s. 6.1(1)) and the 10-day municipal highway notice (Municipal Act, 2001, s. 44(10)). Statutory time runs on the Legislation Act, 2006, s. 88(2) holiday list, which — unlike the RCP list — does not include Saturday or the August Civic Holiday. Computing them on the court list could push a notice date past the statutory bar.

These notice periods are short and unforgiving

The municipal highway notice is 10 days and the snow-and-ice notice is 60 days from the injury. Both can bar the claim. Athenty does not calculate them — calendar them manually and read the section, including the relief provisions (Municipal Act s. 44(12); Occupiers’ Liability Act s. 6.1(6)).

Why the rulesets are maintained, not edited in place

Legal-deadline rules are malpractice-sensitive. They are maintained as reviewed changes — each keeps its citation, a version bump, and a second set of eyes — rather than being free-text-edited. Every ruleset stays Attorney review pending until a lawyer signs it off, and every computed date is shown as “Suggested — verify.” If you spot a rule that needs updating, flag it for the team.

See also: Critical Date Rules (the in-app library view of these rules, with citations and review status).