News & Events National Day of Mourning
Every year on April 28 we pay our respects to, and remember, the thousands of workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness as a result of work-related incidents.
The Canadian Labour Congress first recognized the Day of Mourning in 1984. In 1991, this day became a national observance with the passing of the Workers Mourning Day Act, and on April 28, 1991, the federal government officially proclaimed the national Day of Mourning. Canada was the first nation to recognize the Day of Mourning and since 1984, acknowledgement of the day has spread to many countries and is now observed throughout the world.
Since 1997, the BC Federation of Labour, the Business Council of British Columbia, and WorkSafeBC have co-hosted a public commemorative ceremony for the Day of Mourning in Vancouver.
Due to COVID-19, the decision was made to cancel the in-person ceremony in 2021, with an online video and moment of silence taking its place.
The 2021 Day of Mourning ceremony will be available at 10:30 am on Wednesday, April 28th, 2021, at dayofmourning.bc.ca.
In 2020, 151 workers in B.C. lost their lives to workplace injury or disease.
On April 28, please join in to honour the lives of those that have been injured or lost their lives to workplace injury or disease in B.C.
Ways to commemorate our fallen workers:
- Visit the online Mourning Ceremony in your community: BC List of Ceremonies is available here.
- Honour a fallen worker: https://www.dayofmourning.bc.ca/dedication-landing/
- Observe a moment of silence
- Download and display a poster or decal in your workplace (available here)