About: National Indigenous Peoples Day

National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada. The day was first celebrated in 1996, after it was proclaimed that year by then Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc, to be celebrated annually on 21 June. This date was chosen as the statutory holiday for many reasons, including its cultural significance as the Summer solstice, and the fact that it is a day on which many Indigenous peoples and communities traditionally celebrate their heritage. A proposal to rename the day National Indigenous Peoples Day was made in 2017. The bill to make that change was still being debated by parliament when the legislature was dissolved. The federal Crown has begun referring to the day as National Indigenous Peoples Day, regardless. This day has been celebrated as a statutory territorial holiday in the Northwest Territories since 2001 and in Yukon since 2017.