7-13 Mennonite Heritage Week
The year 2025 marks 500 years since a group of young radicals gathered secretly in Zürich, Switzerland. They had fallen out with city and religious officials about issues such as the baptism of children and the separation of church and state. Read more about Mennonite Heritage Week 2025.
12-21 Welcoming Week
Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity. Celebrate using the 2025 theme: Stories We Share
20-26 International Week of the Deaf
Theme for 2025: No Human Rights Without Sign Language Rights
With daily themes. A week of celebration, awareness and action. Learn more.
21-27 National Forest Week
Each year National Forest Week (NFW) is celebrated across Canada by many individuals and diverse governmental and non governmental organizations. During NFW, Canadians are invited to learn more about Canada’s forest heritage and to raise awareness about this valuable and renewable resource. Forests are fundamental to our economy, culture, traditions and history – and to our future. Communities, families and individuals depend on forests for their livelihood and way of life.
How to Celebrate
NFW 2025 Toolkit
22-26 Truth & Reconciliation Week
Truth and Reconciliation Week (TRW) is dedicated to promoting reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples through learning, reflection, and action. It serves to honour the rich history, diverse cultures, and vibrant languages of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples while acknowledging the profound and enduring impact of the residential school system on Survivors, their families, and communities.
Teaching Resources organized by Grade Level
22-26 Gender Equality Week
The fourth week of September is Gender Equality Week in Canada, a time to highlight progress made to advance gender equality, celebrate women’s achievements, and reaffirm Canada’s commitment to closing persistent gender gaps that hold too many back. Gender Equality Week was created through Bill C-309, the Gender Equality Week Act, which became law on June 21, 2018.
1 Labour Day
Labour Day has been a statutory public holiday in Canada since 1894. A labour demonstration in Toronto in April 1872, in support of striking printers, led directly to the enactment of the Trade Union Act, a law that confirmed the legality of unions. On 22 July 1882, a labour celebration in Toronto attracted the attention of an American labour leader, who organized a similar parade in New York City that same year.
5 International Day of Charity
The International Day of Charity was established with the objective of sensitizing and mobilizing people, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities. The date of 5 September was chosen in order to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 “for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”
7 Ukrainian Heritage Day
Ukrainian Heritage Day is celebrated on September 7th each year. It’s a day to recognize the contributions of Ukrainian Canadians to Canada’s culture, politics, education, and sports.
8 International Literacy Day
International Literacy Day reminds us how important literacy is for individuals, communities and societies. Literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship. Literacy is a foundation for people to acquire broader knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours to foster a culture of lasting peace based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversity, and tolerance and to build harmonious relations with oneself, other people and the planet. Despite progress, at least 739 million youth and adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills.
9 International FASD Day
First celebrated in 1999, FASD day is devoted to raising awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to improve prevention of FASD and diagnosis and support for individuals with FASD. This year’s FASD Awareness Month theme, “Everyone Plays a Part: Take Action!”.
10 World Suicide Prevention Day
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. On this day, people will gather in communities across Canada and around the world to show support for suicide prevention efforts, to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died by suicide, to comfort those who grieve the loss of a loved one to suicide and to strengthen connections and community together.
11 National Day of Service
September 11th is a federally recognized National Day of Service in Canada and in March 2022 was legislated (Bill 51) as a Provincial Day of Service in Ontario. In 2001, in the face of tragedy, Canadians displayed incredible compassion and service. We honour these Canadians and all those who serve our country.
14 Terry Fox Run
The annual Terry Fox Run has become a classic Canadian tradition. With nearly 600 communities, big and small, urban and rural, English and French, fundraising for cancer research. This year, participate, fundraise, and help finish what Terry started on Sunday, September 14!
14 Grandparents’ Day
This year we are celebrating “Stories From the Table.”
Inspired by the Emmy-nominated Netflix film NONNAS, this year’s theme honors the food, family, and wisdom shared across generations. Whether you’re gathering around the table, swapping recipes, or simply sharing stories, it’s a chance to strengthen intergenerational connections in your family and community.
15 International Day of Democracy
The International Day of Democracy is a timely opportunity to renew our commitment to democratic principles and values at this pivotal juncture for all countries. Unfortunately, democracy today faces unprecedented challenges worldwide. The promotion and protection of democratic principles is at the heart of Canada’s international engagement.
18 International Equal Pay Day
September 18 marks International Equal Pay Day. On this day, we recognize the strides this country has made towards pay equity, but also highlight the important work that remains to be done.
In Canada, women earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by men for work of equal value. For Indigenous women, racialized women, and women with disabilities, it’s even less. Gender equality will not be achieved without pay equity.
20 World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day has brought together over 114 million people in 211 countries to tackle the waste crisis. Its mission is to empower individuals, communities, organizations, and governments in driving sustainable change in waste management practices and cross-sector cooperation through collective action.
21 International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”) is observed around the world each year on 21 September. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.
22 Autumn Equinox
The autumnal equinox—also called the September equinox or the fall equinox—arrives on Monday, September 22. Not only do temperatures drop, but plant life slows down, and so do we. After the autumnal equinox, days become shorter than nights as the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier. This ends with the winter solstice, after which days start to grow longer once again.
23 Bi Visibility Day
Marked each year since 1999, Bi Visibility Day raises bi awareness and challenges bisexual & biromantic erasure. 2025 marks 26 years since the first Bi Visibility Day back in 1999 – and so the 27th year that we have celebrated bisexual life on 23 September.
23 International Day of Sign Languages
Today is the International Day of Sign Languages! The International Day of Sign Languages takes place every year around the world on September 23rd. The day raises awareness about how people who are deaf use Sign languages to communicate and contribute to their communities.
25 Franco-Ontarian Day
There are more than 622,000 Francophones and 1.5 million Ontarians who can speak French, making Ontario Canada’s largest Francophone community outside of Quebec. September 25 is Franco-Ontarian Day, a time to celebrate your community and its history. It was officially named Franco-Ontarian Day in 2010.
The Franco-Ontario flag flew for the first time on September 25, 1975, at the University of Sudbury. It was created by history professor Gaétan Gervais and political science student Michel Dupuis. The flag became the symbol of the Franco-Ontarian community and was officially recognized in 2001.
22-24 Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is a fall holiday, taking place at the beginning of the month of Tishrei, which is actually the seventh month of the Jewish year (counting from Nisan in the spring). It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking stock of one’s life.
25 World Maritime Day
The World Maritime Day theme for 2025 “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity” reflects the ocean’s vital role in the world economy, with more than 80% of global trade transported by sea. The ocean is a source of jobs and food for millions of people, a home for countless marine species, and a regulator of the planet’s climate, mitigating the impacts of climate change.
30 – National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
September 30 is recognized as Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day inspired by the story of Indian Residential School Survivor Phyllis Webstad.
Creating such a federal holiday was one of the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015.
September 30, 2021, marked the first observance of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, following the identification of potential unmarked burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Commemorating this day to honour Survivors and increase understanding of the history and legacy of Residential Schools is one step in a long journey towards truth-telling and meaningful reconciliation.
