Annual Light It Up! For NDEAM
On October 15, Canada Lights Up.
From city halls and office towers to community centres and local landmarks, organizations across the country will illuminate their buildings in purple and blue in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Join hundreds of organizations in demonstrating your commitment to disability-inclusive employment and help shine a light on the skills, talents, and contributions of people who have a disability.
One night. Hundreds of locations. One shared commitment to inclusion.
QUICK LINKS:
Submit locations | PR Kit | List of 2026 locations | Light It Up! For NDEAM Ambassadors League | Frequently Asked Questions
Why Light It Up?
More than 740,000 working-age Canadians who have a disability have work potential but are not currently participating in the labour force.
People who have a disability contribute valuable skills, perspectives, and experiences to workplaces across Canada. Yet many continue to face barriers to employment and career advancement.
Light It Up! For NDEAM™ shines a spotlight on the importance of creating workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. It is an opportunity for organizations to raise awareness, demonstrate leadership, and join a growing national movement supporting disability-inclusive employment.
When people who have a disability have the opportunity to contribute their skills and talents, communities become stronger, businesses gain access to a broader talent pool, and Canada’s economy benefits.
2026 Participating Locations and Communities
These are the 202 locations and 61 communities that have confirmed they’re participating in 2026:
Updated: Sep 18 , 2026 at 1:25 PM ET
NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR — 20 locations | 9 communities
Clarenville
Avalon Employment Clarenville Office
Town Star
Cornerbrook
Memorial University – Grenfell Campus
Stepping Stones Daycare
Gander
Gander and Area Chamber of Commerce
Grand Falls-Windsor
Town Hall
Happy Valley Goose-Bay
Labrador Campus of Memorial University
Town Hall
Port aux Basques
Town Hall
Springdale
Community Walk
Town Hall
Tree lighting
St. Anthony
Town Hall
St. John’s
Avalon Employment Office
Cabot Tower at Signal Hill National Historic Site
City Hall
Confederation Building
Marine Institute
Memorial University
St. John’s Convention Centre
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND — 1 location | 1 community
Charlottetown
Shaw Building
NOVA SCOTIA — 3 locations | 3 communities
Annapolis Royal
PeopleWorx Society – Nova Scotia Works , 253 St. George Street
Coldbrook
PeopleWorx Society – Nova Scotia Works , 11 Opportunity Lane
Middleton
PeopleWorx Society – Nova Scotia Works , 298 Marshall Street
NEW BRUNSWICK — 1 location | 1 community
Edmundston
Hôtel de ville d’Edmundston
QUEBEC — 0 locations | 0 communities
ONTARIO — 38 locations | 23 communities
Amherstburg
Town Hall
Brampton
Brampton City Hall clock tower
Brant
Penman’s Dam
Burlington
Brant Pier Street
Hamilton
Career Foundation Office (110 James Street South)
Hamilton Sign
Hanover
Hanover Civic Centre
Georgian Bluffs – Owen Sound
Township Building
Niagara
Niagara Sign
Kitchner
City Hall
Uptown Waterloo BIA – King Street
Lion’s Head
Brightshores Health System Lion’s Head Hospital
London
Fanshaw College
Markdale
Brightshores Health System Markdale Hospital
Meaford
Brightshores Health System Meaford Hospital
North Bay
Birchaven Variety
Carry All Home Builders
Community Living North Bay Main Office
Community Living North Bay (Respite Services)
Grow Me Green
Hit the Spot
Michaud-Vachon Optical
MP Nipissing-Timiskaming Office Front
Owen Sound
Brightshores Health System Owen Sound Hospital
Brightshores Health System Wellness & Recovery Centre
City Hall
Prescott
CSE Consulting – South Grenville Office
St. Thomas
“Jumbo” Monument
Tecumseh
Town Hall
Thunder Bay
City Hall
Thunder Bay Airport – YQT
Toronto
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
3D Toronto Sign
CN Tower
Vaughan
City Hall
Whitby
Town of Whitby, Town Hall
Abilities Centre Windows
Windsor
Windsor City Hall
MANITOBA — 88 locations | 6 communities
Beausejour
Access Credit Union
Agassiz Adult Education Centre
Airliner Drive In
Annette’s Restaurant
Association for Community Living – Beausejour Branch
Beau-Head Seniors Centre
Beausejour Chiropractic
Beausejour Community Church
Beausejour Dental Centre
Beausejour GM
Beausejour Hotel
Beausejour Optical
Beausejour Rehabilitation
Breezy Oaks Inn & Tavern
Brio Insurance
Brokenhead River Regional Library
Century 21 Sun Country Realty
CHEF in the HOUSE
Community Threads
Beausejour CO-OP Administration Office
CO-OP Food Store
CO-OP Gas Bar
Daien Denture Clinic
Dawson Chiropractic Centre
ESSO – Ramers Car Wash and Gas
Eastman Dental
First Street Auto
FUEL Fitness & Nutrition
Golden Bay Honey & Beehive Tours
Guardian Beausejour Pharmacy
Happy Go Lucy’s
Heavenly Health
Home Hardware
Howland Hotel
K.A.R.D. Repairs
Kerryleegh Hildebrandtt RMT
McMunn and Yates
Meraki Hair Studio
Midnight Show
Needle Crafts & Studio
Network 4 Change
Pennyweight Market
Rexall
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 132
Serenity Gift Shoppe
Supported Employment Options
The Co-operators
Traverse Bay Trading Post and Thrift
Town of Beausejour Office
Ursula & Co. Bakehouse
Wayne Ewasko, MLA for Lac du Bonnet Constituency Office
Lac du Bonnet
Agility Physiotherapy
Carnations Corner Plus
Clipper Publishing
Community Futures Winnipeg River
Cottage Country Cannabis
Drifters Inn
Gran’s Bake Shop
Hair Source
HUB International
I Heart Coffee
Lac du Bonnet Dental Clinic
Lac du Bonnet Physiotherapy
Lac du Bonnet Town Office
Lange’s Music Studio
Lucci’s Too!
Lac du Bonnet Library
Mrs. Lucci’s Second Hand Store
Mrs. Lucci’s Resource Centre
Red Apple
Rona
The Lakeview Inn
Third Street Hair
Oakbank
Fuel Fitness & Nutriton
Seddons Corner
Sweet Weedz
Luna’s Diner
Selkirk
City of Selkirk Water Tower
Connections to Employment
Winnipeg
308-131 Provencher Blvd
ANAF Club 60
Connect Employment Services
Founders’Observation Lounge
Manitoba Hydro Building
RBC Convention Centre
Reaching E-Quality Employment Services
RRC Polytech’s Exchange District Campus – Roblin Centre and the Paterson Global Foods Institute
Total Flooring – 702 Broadway
WASO Employment Services
SASKATCHEWAN — 32 locations | 7 communities
Christopher Lake
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch, Resident House PO Box 1360
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch, Resident House PO Box 1361
Hague
Sunshine Housing – Sunshine House
Sunshine Housing – Venture home
Sunshine Housing – Daily Delights Café
Lloydminster
Bea Fisher Admin Office
Bea Fisher Training Centre
Osler
Sunshine Housing
Prince Albert
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch, Main Office
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 1832 17th Ave West
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 2325 1st Ave E
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 1655 Muir Drive
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 1833 17th Ave West
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 815 13 th Street West
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 714 28th Street East
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 726 28th Street East
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 742 28th Street East
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 486 28th Street East
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 90 28th Street East
Wintersun 420
Saskatoon
CLASI Saskatoon
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch, Main office
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 456 Whitney
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 1424 1st Ave N
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 607 3rd Ave N
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch- 1639 1st Ave N
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 3003 33rd Street W
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 2932 33rd Street W
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch- 1635 Ave D N
Eagles Nest Youth Ranch – 326 West Hampton Bvld
Prairie Winds Monument
Saskatoon City Hall
SARC Office
Osler
Sunshine Housing
ALBERTA — 2 locations | 2 communities
Calgary
TELUS Sky (Northern Lights)
Fort McMurray
Saline Creek Pedestrian Bridge
BRITISH COLUMBIA — 9 locations | 2 communities
Burnaby
City Hall
Guideway
Ladysmith
Ladysmith Signature Sign – Bob Stuart Park and 1st Ave
Nanaimo
City Hall
Okotoks
Municipal Building
Vancouver
TELUS Garden
Vancouver Convention Centre
Victoria
Legislative Assembly of BC — Ceremonial Entrance, Centre Fountain, Centennial (Back) Fountain, Confederation Park Garden and Waterfall
Williams Lake
City Hall
YUKON — 0 locations | 0 communities
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — 7 locations | 2 communities
Inuvik
Inuvik Works
Town Hall
Tourism Centre
Yellowknife
Arthur Laing Building – Franklin Ave Side
Diamond Plaza
Explorer Hotel
Tastes of the North
NUNAVUT — 0 location | 0 communities
How You Can Participate
Whether you’re illuminating a landmark, engaging employees, hosting a community activity, or sharing your support online, there are many ways to participate in Light It Up! For NDEAM™.
| Employers |
| Demonstrate your commitment to disability-inclusive employment by lighting up your workplace in purple and blue. Alternatively, your team can wear purple and blue. |
| Municipalities & Public Institutions |
| Help make disability inclusion visible across your community by illuminating municipal buildings, landmarks, bridges, public spaces, or community facilities. Consider issuing a proclamation or sharing campaign messages with residents. |
| Employment Service Providers |
| Lead local participation efforts by recruiting employers, municipalities, landmarks, and community partners. Promote Light It Up! For NDEAM™ within your network and help raise awareness of disability-inclusive employment in your community. |
| Community Organizations & Landmarks |
| Join organizations across Canada in raising awareness of disability-inclusive employment. Light up your building or landmark, share your participation online, and help inspire conversations about inclusion in your community. |
Participating in Light It Up! For NDEAM is easy
Use the resources in the Light It Up! For NDEAM PR Kit to get involved in lighting up the nation purple and blue on October 16! The Kit has all the resources you need to learn about the event, spread the word about it, submit lighting requests and show your support by wearing purple and blue the day of Light It Up! for NDEAM.
Access the PR Kit
Promotional Material
Post Cards
(All PDFs have printer’s marks for commercial printing; bilingual on reverse side)
- Generic Version
- Newfoundland & Labrador Version
- New Brunswick Version
- Prince Edward Island Version
- Nova Scotia Version
- Quebec Version
- Ontario Version
- Manitoba Version
- Saskatchewan Version
- Alberta Version
- British Columbia Version
- Nunavut Version
- Northwest Territories Version
Templates
- Lighting request email/letter template (Microsoft® Word)
- Member of Provincial Parliament/Member of the Legislative Assembly email template (Microsoft® Word)
Tip Sheets & FAQs
Graphics
- Apparel artwork (PDF, bilingual)
Accéder au kit RP
Matériel promotionnel
Cartes postales
(Tous les PDF ont des marques d’impression pour l’impression commerciale; bilingue au verso)
- Version générique
- Version de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
- Version de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard
- Version de Nouveau-Brunswick
- Version de la Nouvelle-Écosse
- Version de Québec
- Version de l’Ontario
- Version de Manitoba
- Version de Saskatchewan
- Version de l’Alberta
- Version de Colombie-Britannique
- Version de Nunavut
- Version de Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Fiche-conseils et questions fréquemment posées
- 7 conseils pour prendre de superbes photos la nuit (PDF)
- Questions fréquement posées On illumine la nuit ! pour le MNSEPSH (PDF)
Graphisme
- Oeuvre de vêtements (PDF , bilingue)
Light It Up! For NDEAM Photo & Video Gallery
From the Terry Fox Memorial at Mile Zero in St. John’s, to the Vancouver Convention Centre on the West Coast, we’ve put together a collection of some of the best images of structures and landmarks around the country that have illuminated purple and blue for Light It Up! For NDEAM.
Visit the gallery
Watch and share these Light It Up! For NDEAM highlights videos:
- National highlights (2024)
- National highlights (2022)
- Atlantic Canada highlights (2021)
- Ontario highlights (2021)
- Western Canada highlights (2021)
Media & Interview Requests
For media inquiries, interview opportunities, campaign information, or requests to connect with participating organizations, please contact:
Pawrnaa Perinpanayagam
Communications Strategist
pperinpanayagam@odenetwork.com
Brief History: From One Night to a National Movement
What began as a one-night lighting event in Ontario has grown into a national movement that brings together employers, municipalities, community organizations, landmarks, governments, and Employment Service Providers to promote disability-inclusive employment across Canada.
-
2020
- 28 locations illuminated across 16 Ontario communities
- First-ever province-wide lighting event for National Disability Employment Awareness Month
-
2021
- Expanded nationally for the first time
- Over 300 locations participated across all 10 provinces and two territories
- Federal government participation begins
-
2022
- Nearly 440 locations participated nationwide
- Government of Ontario participates for the first time
- Light It Up! For NDEAM™ continues to grow beyond a lighting event into a national awareness movement
-
2023
- 641 locations illuminated across 147 communities
- 45 federal buildings participated nationwide
- Record participation and growing community engagement across Canada
-
2024
- 833 locations illuminated across 199 communities
- Participation in every province and territory
- 49 federal buildings and 21 provincial government buildings participated nationwide
-
2025
- 908 locations illuminated across Canada across 150 communities
- 55 federal buildings and 14 provincial government buildings participated nationwide
- Saskatchewan surpassed 200 participating locations, more than doubling participation from the previous year
- Participation in the Northwest Territories and Yukon doubled, reflecting growing momentum across Northern Canada
Today, Light It Up! For NDEAM™ is one of Canada’s largest disability employment awareness initiatives, engaging hundreds of communities and organizations from coast to coast to coast in a shared commitment to disability-inclusive employment.
Take the next step and submit your Light It Up! For NDEAM locations today!
YES, I want to submit a location now!
Have a question or need guidance?
- Our FAQs page answers key questions about how Light It Up! For NDEAM works
- Email us at info@odenetwork.com
