Apple Store employees in Canada have been told they can’t take April 24 off, leading to speculation that the iPad will be available for Canadian shoppers on that day, according to iPad in Canada.

Unnamed sources with close ties to Apple’s retail activities claim both April 24 and 25 have been tagged as blackout dates, meaning employees can’t request those days off. Blackout dates typically indicate Apple anticipates extremely high traffic, which goes along with new product launches.

Apple is launching the iPad in the United States on April 3, and promised to release the multimedia tablet device in other countries in late April. The blackout dates for Canada’s Apple Store employees just so happens to fit in the late April window.

The iPad is Apple’s multimedia tablet device with support for music and video playback, and it includes an ebook reader application. It sports a 9.7-inch multitouch display, support for most iPhone apps, built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and some models include 3G wireless data connectivity, too.

Apple hasn’t officially announced when the iPad will ship outside the U.S., or when customers in other countries will be able to pre-order the device.