National Indigenous Veterans Day 2026: Nov. 8 Ceremonies in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver

National Indigenous Veterans Day ceremonies are listed for Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, according to Veterans Affairs Canada, the City of Toronto and Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC). Start times run from 10:00 a.m. in Ottawa to 2 p.m. in Toronto and 10:45 a.m. in Vancouver, and the zones matter: the Vancouver ceremony runs on British Columbia time, two hours behind Eastern Time (ET).

Veterans Affairs Canada lists its Ottawa ceremony as “held in recognition of Indigenous Veterans Day.” The agency’s pages give Nov. 8 as the event date; the pages read for this story do not spell out “National Indigenous Veterans Day is Nov. 8” in so many words. The Vancouver organizer calls its event the National Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony.

Where are the Nov. 8 ceremonies, and at what time?

All three listings are for Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. The Ottawa and Vancouver listings do not state a time zone; Ottawa is in the Eastern zone (UTC-5 since clocks went back on Nov. 1). British Columbia did not change its clocks on Nov. 1 and stays on UTC-7 all year, the provincial government said in March 2026, so Vancouver is two hours behind Eastern Time (ET).

City	Place	Local time	In ET	In Vancouver	Source
Ottawa	National Indigenous Veterans Monument, 100 Elgin Street	10:00 to 11:30 a.m.	10:00 to 11:30 a.m.	8:00 to 9:30 a.m.	Veterans Affairs Canada
Vancouver	Victory Square, 200 W Hastings St	10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.	12:45 to 3:00 p.m.	10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.	Métis Nation British Columbia
Toronto	Spirit Garden on Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen St. W.	2 p.m.	2 p.m.	12:00 p.m.	City of Toronto

The Veterans Affairs Canada calendar also lists a Toronto event, “Indigenous Veterans Day Ceremony at Toronto City Hall Spirit Garden,” on Nov. 8 with no time. The City of Toronto’s notice, published Nov. 7, 2026, gives the time as 2 p.m.

What is planned at the Toronto and Vancouver ceremonies?

The City of Toronto says it will host a ceremony to commemorate Indigenous Veterans Day on Sunday, Nov. 8, with a Sacred Fire and a Sharing Circle. The Métis Nation British Columbia listing invites people to gather at the Vancouver ceremony and says a Métis wreath is placed by MNBC leaders. No program text was found for the Ottawa ceremony.

What does the Defence Team statement say?

The Defence Team Co-Champions for Indigenous Peoples issued a statement on Nov. 6, 2026. It begins: “On National Indigenous Veterans Day, we honour generations of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.” The statement as read does not give the date.

Is Nov. 8 a legal day in Manitoba or across Canada?

Manitoba’s Bill 223, the Indigenous Veterans Day Act, says: “In each year, November 8 is to be known as Indigenous Veterans Day.” That is provincial law and covers Manitoba only. No official source was found on whether federal, provincial or municipal offices close on Nov. 8, or whether the day is a federal statutory holiday, so it states neither.

For the days that follow, see the guide to Remembrance Day 2026 by province, the Poppy Campaign dates and the Remembrance Sunday 2026 service timings in the UK. The calendar site has When is Veterans Day? and the November 2026 printable calendar.

What is still unconfirmed about Indigenous Veterans Day 2026?

• The first year the day was observed. Sources read for this story disagree, so none is given.
• Whether the federal government recognizes the day by statute. Only one secondary source says so, and no official page was read.
• The date in 2027. Manitoba’s law applies to Manitoba only, and no national official source was found.
• Closures of offices and schools on Nov. 8.

The City of Victoria also lists a ceremony page for Nov. 8, but its site blocked automated access and is not used here.

Ceremony times to print for Nov. 8

The one-page sheet lists the Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto start times with Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific columns, so a reader in any zone can see when each ceremony starts. It also lists the two facts still open: closures on Nov. 8 and the Ottawa program.