Truth & Reconciliation Day 2026 — How Many Days Until Truth & Reconciliation Day?

About Truth & Reconciliation Day

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — observed on 30 September — is a federal statutory holiday in Canada, established in 2021. It honours the survivors of the Indian residential school system, the children who never returned home, and their families and communities.

The residential school system operated from the 1870s to 1996, forcibly removing over 150,000 Indigenous children from their families and placing them in church-run, government-funded schools. The purpose was explicit cultural assimilation — to "kill the Indian in the child." Children were forbidden to speak their languages or practise their cultures. Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse was rampant. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, established in 2008, documented these abuses and issued 94 Calls to Action.

30 September was chosen because it is Orange Shirt Day — a grassroots commemoration that began in 2013. The orange shirt represents a residential school survivor named Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken from her on her first day at school. Wearing orange on 30 September has become a widely observed act of solidarity with residential school survivors and Indigenous communities.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation became a federal holiday on 30 September 2021
Over 150,000 Indigenous children were sent to residential schools between the 1870s and 1996
The last residential school — Gordon Residential School in Saskatchewan — closed in 1996
30 September is also Orange Shirt Day — a grassroots commemoration since 2013
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 Calls to Action in 2015

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Truth and Reconciliation Day?

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is always on 30 September.

Why do people wear orange on 30 September?

Orange Shirt Day commemorates residential school survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose new orange shirt was taken from her on her first day at school in 1973. Wearing orange represents that every child matters.

Is it a public holiday across all of Canada?

It is a federal statutory holiday, which means federally regulated workplaces close. Not all provinces have adopted it as a provincial holiday — some observe it without closing schools and businesses.