National Day for Truth and Reconciliation speech template (Canada)
Published 10 October 2026 · Date checked on 5 October 2026 · Written by the Cue Card Converter team at EventProgrammer, event production professionals
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed on 30 September. It honours the survivors of residential schools, the children who never returned home, and their families and communities. It became a federal statutory holiday in 2021, responding to one of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The date is also Orange Shirt Day, when people wear orange to affirm that every child matters. Many attend ceremonies, listen to survivors and learn about the history of residential schools.
- Date
- September 30
- Next dates
- Thursday 30 September 2027
Saturday 30 September 2028
Sunday 30 September 2029 - Country
- Canada
- Tone
- Solemn – remembrance
- Typical events
- Commemorative gatherings planned with Indigenous partners, school assemblies, workplace learning sessions, community walks, university events and municipal ceremonies on or around 30 September.
- Length
- 235 spoken words · about 2 min at 130 words a minute · 5 cue cards
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation speech, ready as cue cards
A complete host script in 5 cards, about 2 minutes of speaking. Open it in the editor to add your names, change the card size or highlights, and print.
- WELCOME1 / 5
Good morning, and thank you for being here. My name is {Your name}. We gather on the traditional territory of {Nation or Nations}, and we are grateful to be here. If you are wearing orange today, thank you. It is a simple way of saying that every child matters. - AN OPENING2 / 5
Before we go further, we are honoured to welcome {Elder or Knowledge Keeper, Nation}, who has kindly agreed to open our gathering. Please listen with care, and do not take photographs or recordings unless invited to.
[ELDER'S OPENING]
Thank you for your words, and for sharing them with us. - WHY WE ARE HERE3 / 5
For more than a century, Indigenous children across Canada were taken from their families and sent to residential schools. Many suffered harm there, and many never came home. Today we honour the survivors, remember the children who were lost, and stand with their families and communities. Truth must come before reconciliation. - A MOMENT OF SILENCE4 / 5
Let us now share a minute of silence. We hold in our thoughts the children who never returned home, the survivors who carry their memories, and the families and communities who still feel that loss today.
[ONE MINUTE OF SILENCE]
Thank you. - CLOSING5 / 5
Reconciliation is not the work of a single day. Before you leave, please take a copy of {Resource or reading list}, and consider one step you will take this year to listen, learn or support Indigenous-led work. Thank you for being here. Please take care of yourselves and one another.
Red is used only for names, titles, organisations, dates, times and section headings. Replace the words in {curly brackets} with your own details; lines in [SQUARE BRACKETS] are stage directions and are not read aloud.
How to adapt it
- Plan with local Indigenous partners. Invite an Elder or Knowledge Keeper well in advance, ask about their protocols, and offer an honorarium or gift in line with local custom.
- This is a day of remembrance, not celebration. Avoid the word happy, applause cues and festive music; orange shirts, silence and time for listening suit the day better.
- Hearing about residential schools can be distressing, especially for survivors and their families. Share details of the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line in your materials, and let people know they may step out at any time.
- Encourage guests to wear orange. If you order shirts, choose designs by Indigenous artists or suppliers whose proceeds support survivors and their communities.
Print and rehearse
“Edit and print these cards” opens the script in the free cue card maker, where you can choose A5, 4 × 6 or 3 × 5 inch cards, print several per sheet with cut lines or export PDF, PowerPoint and Word, and rehearse full screen in practice mode. To write your own programme around it, see how to write an MC script and the run of show template.
Sources
Date and background checked on 5 October 2026 against: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - Canada.ca. Customs vary between organisations and regions; always follow the official programme of your event.
More Canada speech templates
- Canada Day · July 1
- Remembrance Day · November 11