When is Boxing Day celebrated in Canada?

Discover Canada records this in its public-holidays table. The guide pairs Boxing Day with the date December 26. The date the test wants is therefore December 26.

Boxing Day follows Christmas Day. Discover Canada's public-holidays table places Christmas Day on December 25 and Boxing Day on December 26 — the two as a back-to-back winter holiday pair, marking the centre of the Canadian holiday season.

The fixed date never moves. Different from the Monday-rule holidays such as Victoria Day (Monday before May 25), Labour Day (first Monday of September), and Thanksgiving Day (second Monday of October), Boxing Day always falls on December 26 regardless of the day of the week. So Boxing Day is one of the country's fixed-date observances — alongside Canada Day (July 1), Remembrance Day (November 11), Christmas Day (December 25), and Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day (November 20).

Boxing Day fits a wider Canadian holiday calendar. Discover Canada's public-holidays table lists many: Easter Monday (Monday immediately following Easter Sunday); Vimy Day (April 9); Victoria Day (Monday preceding May 25); Fête nationale (Quebec, June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist); Canada Day (July 1); Labour Day (first Monday of September); Thanksgiving Day (second Monday of October); Remembrance Day (November 11); Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day (November 20); Christmas Day (December 25); Boxing Day (December 26). So Boxing Day closes the calendar's main holiday list — a December 26 fixed date that wraps up the year's national observances.

The day-after-Christmas timing reflects long British tradition. Discover Canada doesn't dwell on the origin of the name, but Boxing Day is observed in many Commonwealth countries as a public holiday on December 26. In Canada, it serves as an extension of the Christmas observance — and a fixed-date holiday in the federal calendar. Together with Christmas Day on December 25, it forms the most-observed two-day winter holiday pair in the Canadian year.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the date of Boxing Day. Discover Canada commits to one date: December 26. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different date. December 25 is Christmas Day. January 1 is New Year's Day. January 11 is Sir John A. Macdonald Day. Only December 26 — the day after Christmas — is Boxing Day.