National Truth and Reconciliation Events - 2025
Sept 30th Events – Turtle Island
Learn and reflect
Take some time to learn about the stories of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and the ongoing legacy of Indian Residential Schools in Ontario.
Assembly of First Nations It’s Our Time Toolkit
Access tools to help you reflect on the intergenerational harm that Indian Residential Schools have caused Indigenous families and communities.
Access resources to help you better understand the legacy of Indian Residential Schools.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Learn about the tragic and painful legacy of Indian Residential Schools and how it continues to impact the lives of Indigenous peoples across the country.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation resources
Take steps to continue your journey towards understanding and meaningful reconciliation.
Woodland Cultural Centre Indigenous Preservation Museum
Check out a variety of educational workshops, tours and other programming to learn more about the past, present and future of Southern Ontario’s First Nations peoples.
Events
Toronto, ON
- Orange After Dark: An Orange Shirt Day Show
A Truth & Reconciliation Day after-party featuring Indigenous music, fashion, and poetry. Presented by NEECHI BY NATURE, this all-ages event takes place at the Poetry Jazz Café (1078 Queen Street West) from 8:00 PM to 11:30 PM (doors open at 7:00 PM). Expect performances across hip hop, R&B, soul, jazz, as well as an Indigenous streetwear showcase and community photo ops. - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/orange-after-dark-an-orange-shirt-day-show-tickets-1619018751669?
Winnipeg, MB
- 5th Annual Orange Shirt Day Healing Walk and Pow Wow
Organized by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO), this free community event will be held at the RBC Convention Centre on September 30, 2025. Attendees are encouraged to wear orange to honour Survivors and those who never made it home. Further details, including programming, vendor opportunities, and schedules, are forthcoming. - https://scoinc.mb.ca/orangeshirtday2025/?
Saskatoon, SK
- Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk
This annual event includes 10 km, 5 km, and a 2.15 km Elder & Kids fun run. It begins with a ceremony featuring Elders and speakers at Rotary Park, followed by a round dance and running routes along the scenic Meewasin Trail. Funds raised support OrangeShirtDay.org and local grassroots movements promoting Indigenous athletes. - https://www.therunningdirectory.ca/race/orange-shirt-day-run-walk-saskatoon-2025?
Brantford (Woodland Cultural Centre), ON
- Official Unveiling of the Mohawk Institute Interpretive Historic Site
The former Mohawk Institute Residential School will be officially unveiled as an interpretive historic site on September 30, 2025. Admission is timed-entry, first-come, first-served. Early-access bracelets will be available at the Woodland Cultural Centre gift shop on September 25–26 (while supplies last), with gates opening at 9:00 AM for bracelet distribution. - https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/upcoming-events/
Lunch & Learns
Open to the Public
During Truth and Reconciliation Week 2025, we invite you to join our daily Lunch and Learn webinars – an immersive experience to UN-learn the myths of colonial history in Canada.
These 50-minute sessions will begin at 12:00pm CDT each day. All sessions will have simultaneous English-French and ASL interpretation.
September 30th
Remembering the Children commemorates the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Participate on September 30th, as we memorialize the children lost to the residential school system and honour Survivors and their families.
Events at Beechwood Cemetery
Join us from 2pm on at the Beechwood National Cemetery for an afternoon of activities to honour Orange Shirt Day this September 30, 2025. We kindly ask that you register to participate in the tours: Register here for Beechwood Walking Tour
Reconciling History Walking Tours
- Tours run hourly from 2:45 – 5:45. All tour times are available in English. Tours in French are available at 3:45 and 5:45.
- These 45-minute tours take you through the grounds of Beechwood Cemetery to learn about the key figures involved in the residential school system, while also learning more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.
- All tours are available in English; tours in French are available at 3:45 and 5:45.
- A golf cart will be availabel to those who need assistance on the tour. An ASL interpreter will be available for some tours. Please check registration website for details.
Honouring Ceremony
- At 2:15, a short ceremony will be held to acknowledge the children who never returned home from residential schools and to honour the survivors.
Action Tables
- We invite you to visit the action table after the tour to make art and write letters to elected officials to help advance the Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-Spirit People Calls for Justice.
Art Exhibit
- There will also be an art exhibit inside the Beechwood National Memorial Centre featuring works that engage with the TRC Calls to Action, reconciliation, and truth telling in respectful and thought-provoking ways. Artists can submit until September 7, 2025. Please visit this link to find out more
Events Downtown Ottawa
We invite you to take a Reconciling History Walking Tour of Downtown Ottawa, hosted by A7G!
Tours start at 10am, 12 pm, 2pm and 4pm. We kindly ask that you pre-register: Register here for Downtown Walking Tour
These 90-minute walking tours covering approximately 2km are an opportunity to learn more about the role of the federal government and bureaucracy in the residential school system and the lessons we can learn from history to address contemporary injustices experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
The tours start on Sparks St. and end at Adaawewigamig, A7G’s social enterprise location at 55 Byward Market Square.
This year, Anishinabeg Ojibikan and the Buffalo Culture Collective will be joining us along the tour to provide a deeper understanding of Indigenous peoples who continue to revitalize and reclaim cultures that have been stolen through colonial assimilation policies such as Residential Schools. The Buffalo Culture Collective will also host a display of buffalo hides at the last point on the tour, Adaawewigamig. You won’t want to miss it!
Please Note:
- These tours are available in English only.
- Unfortunately, due to the length of the tour, we cannot guarantee that the tour is accessible. If you do require accessibility supports, please email admin@a7g.ca; they will do their best to accommodate.
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) invites you to attend the 5th Annual Orange Shirt Day Healing Walk and Pow Wow!
Join us on September 30, 2025, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, in Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory.
Free events! Everyone is welcome! SCO encourages you to participate and wear an orange shirt to honour the Survivors and those who did not make it home.
Healing Walk
We invite you to join us for the Healing Walk to honour Suvivors, and our relatives who never made it home. We walk to honour and remember our loved ones.
A pipe ceremony will start our day at 10 am at the Oodena Circle at the Forks.
The healing walk will start at 11 am and travel to the RBC Convention Centre.
Pow Wow
The Orange Shirt Day Pow Wow takes place at the RBC Convention Centre on the third floor (entrance is to be announced).
All dancers are invited and welcome to participate!
Grand entry: 1 pm
Host drum: Singing Wolf, Peguis First Nation
Join us for a wonderful afternoon and check out amazing dancers and great artisans.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation recognizes the legacy of residential schools, which more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were forced to attend. These schools operated between the 1870s and 1997. This federal holiday, on September 30, honours the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit survivors, their families, communities, and those who perished. It also ensures that we continue to learn about the harms that occurred and ongoing negative impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous communities.
In May 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation recovered the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School. More remains have been located and the numbers keep rising as numerous searches continue to take place across the country.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was initially suggested in June 2015 in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, as one of 94 recommendations. The federal holiday was officially established on June 3, 2021, when Bill C-5 was passed.
2025 Events
Truth and Reconciliation Week 2025 in East Gwillimbury
Truth and Reconciliation Week in Canada is an annual event observed from September 23-27, leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) and Orange Shirt Day on September 30. They serve as a time for mourning the tragic and painful history and ongoing harmful impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous Peoples. The week and day honour the children who never returned home, survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities.
This year in East Gwillimbury, there will be a flag ceremony, community event, and several opportunities to engage with a NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit. Join the Town of East Gwillimbury and our partners, the East Gwillimbury Public Library and the Sharon Museum and Gardens, at the following free events as we mourn the Indigenous children who did not return home from residential schools and honour the healing journey of survivors, their families, and communities.
EG Flag Ceremony
- Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
- Time: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
- Address: 19000 Leslie Street, Sharon
- Event Site: East Gwillimbury Civic Centre Community Flagpole.
- Parking: There is free parking behind the Civic Centre building on the west side.
- Description: All EG staff and residents are welcome to join the Town of East Gwillimbury flag ceremony in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Mayor Virginia Hackson will deliver remarks.
- To commemorate the day, Orange Shirt Day cookies made by Angela Cimino-Owner of Wiishkobi Home Baked Goods (an Indigenous woman owned local bakery) will be served.
- For those not able to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on the Town’s Facebook page.
