Remembrance Day2026 · Date · History
Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defence identify Remembrance Day as November 11 and provide official remembrance guidance and ceremony context.
About Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is observed in Canada on November 11.
Canada’s Holidays Act currently names November 11 as a legal holiday observed throughout Canada under the name Remembrance Day.
Why Remembrance Day matters
The day is a national remembrance observance for military service and sacrifice.
Its date is tied to the armistice that ended First World War fighting on November 11, 1918.
History of Remembrance Day
Canada marked the armistice anniversary from 1919, and the Armistice Day Act of 1921 created a legal holiday on the Monday in the week of November 11.
In 1931, Member of Parliament A.W. Neill introduced an amendment that fixed the observance on November 11 and the name Remembrance Day was adopted.
Veterans Affairs Canada identifies November 11, 1931 as the first official Remembrance Day.
A 2018 amendment to the Holidays Act placed the current legal-holiday wording in section 3.
How the observance developed
This timeline uses documented milestones from reviewed sources. Missing stages are left out rather than guessed.
Armistice Day
The 1931 amendment fixed November 11 and the observance took the name Remembrance Day.
A.W. Neill
Government of Canada history identifies MP A.W. Neill as the member who introduced the 1931 Armistice Day amendment that fixed November 11; the Remembrance Day name was adopted during that legislative change.
Parliament of Canada
Armistice Day Amendment Act, 1931
First documented observance
Veterans Affairs Canada states that Canadians observed the first official Remembrance Day on November 11, 1931.
Amended section 3 of the Holidays Act to use the current wording that November 11 is a legal holiday observed throughout Canada under the name Remembrance Day.
Parliament of Canada · An Act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day)
Veterans Affairs Canada
Veterans Affairs Canada leads current federal remembrance programming and issues official Remembrance Day material.
What the evidence establishes
Confirmed institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Details that could not be established from the reviewed sources are listed separately below.
Predecessor and precursor observances
Earlier or merged observances are kept separate from former names and later institutional actions.
Later institutional actions
Later recognition, renaming, mergers or date changes are kept separate from original establishment.
How to Observe Remembrance Day
Observe the national two-minute silence and local remembrance ceremonies where appropriate.
Use November 11 as the fixed annual date.
Keep the 1918 armistice, the 1919 commemorations, the 1921 Armistice Day statute and the 1931 Remembrance Day transition distinct.
Use current federal guidance for ceremony or public-service details that can change over time.
Remembrance Day Facts
Remembrance Day falls on November 11 in Canada.
The predecessor name was Armistice Day.
The first official Remembrance Day under the current name was observed on November 11, 1931.
The current Holidays Act calls November 11 a legal holiday observed throughout Canada as Remembrance Day.
The date commemorates the November 11, 1918 armistice.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
- Remembrance Civic Context Care.
Evidence & sources
Sources used across the guide are gathered here. Labels show how each source supports the page, and contextual references are kept separate from primary evidence.
Department of National Defence (opens in a new tab)
Government of Canada (opens in a new tab)
Justice Laws Website (opens in a new tab)
Veterans Affairs Canada (opens in a new tab)
Government of Canada — Remembrance ceremony (opens in a new tab)
National Government
Veterans Affairs Canada — Remembrance Day (opens in a new tab)
National Government
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then compare closely related observances and explore useful connections.
Frequently asked questions
When is Remembrance Day?
11 November The documented recurrence rule is: 11 November.
Does Remembrance Day fall on the same date every year?
Yes. It uses a fixed annual date unless stronger evidence changes the pattern.
Is Remembrance Day an official public holiday?
The reviewed sources verify it within this scope: Canada / national remembrance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when reliable evidence explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes Remembrance Day?
The reviewed sources identify Parliament of Canada as the proclaiming or establishing body. The proposer or originator is recorded separately as A.W. Neill. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as Veterans Affairs Canada.
Is Remembrance Day international or country-specific?
This observance is specific to Canada. Its fuller verified scope is: Canada / national remembrance.
How is this page verified?
The factual information is checked against reviewed sources, including the date pattern, scope and institutional history. This page was checked on 2026-09-09.
When is Remembrance Day in Canada?
It is observed on November 11.
What was Remembrance Day previously called in Canada?
The national observance was previously called Armistice Day.
When was the first official Remembrance Day in Canada?
Veterans Affairs Canada identifies November 11, 1931 as the first official Remembrance Day.
Other observances on November 11
These observances are also listed on November 11, 2026.
11 November — anniversary of the 1918 Armistice and annual commemoration of Victory and Peace
French official remembrance guidance cites the 1922 law fixing the annual Victory and Peace commemoration on 11 November, the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice; current law also extends the…
Armistice 1918
France’s official Service-Public holiday tables list Armistice 1918 on 11 November in the overseas legal-holiday framework, supporting the fixed date applicable to French Guiana within that…
Bhai Duj / Bhai Dooj
Government of India tourism material describes Bhai Dooj as a Hindu/South Asian sibling festival in the Diwali cycle and gives Wednesday, 11 November for 2026; a Government of India restric…
Dia da Independência Nacional
Angola government material identifies 11 November as National Independence Day and commemorates the proclamation of independence in 1975.
National Education Day (Rashtriya Shiksha Diwas)
India’s Press Information Bureau states that National Education Day is celebrated every November 11 in honour of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Remembrance Day
Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs states that Remembrance Day is held on November 11 each year, the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice. DVA records the first Australian two-minute…