National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day happens Sept. 30. This day has become an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the history and ongoing impact of residential schools, while honouring the survivors, their families, and communities.

From the 1880s until 1996 when the last school closed, 150,000 First Nation and Inuit children were removed from their communities and forced to attend residential schools across Canada.

Commemorating Orange Shirt Day as a way to honour residential school survivors began after an event held in Williams Lake, BC, in 2013. It started with the words of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a survivor who had her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school. The movement has grown and become a time to raise awareness of the devastating impact of the residential school system on Indigenous people and their descendants.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has several Calls to Action on Treaty education and Indigenous rights. On this National Day for Treaty and Reconciliation, the Office of the Treaty Commissioner asks people to take time to increase understanding of Treaty, the foundational documents for sharing lands and resources, as well as living together in harmony. Be part of the conversation, wear orange, and share what you learn to stop the harmful spread of residential school denialism, a voice which is growing louder.

It is together that we become stronger and make our communities a safe and healthy place for all of us. It is about walking together on a journey to create a new, shared future for our children and grandchildren. Every Child Matters.