Emancipation Day

Southwestern Ontario

Waterloo Region

Kitchener

• Saturday July 26th, 2:30pm to 3:30pm, Emancipation Day Caribbean Dance. With ance performance by CariVybz, and Aaron De Silva playing the steel drums. Kitchener Public Library (central branch)  

Cambridge

• Saturday July 26th, 1:00pm to 7:30pm, Emancipation Day Celebration with Rhythm & Blues, Cambridge

Beyond Waterloo Region

Amherstburg

• Saturday August 9, 2025, Walter Perry Emancipation Golf Classic

Dresden

• Saturday August 2, 2025, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, 11am to 2pm, Celebrate Emancipation Day: Pressed, Poured, Plated and Played
• Saturday August 2, 2025, various speakers, performers, exhibits and cuisine that reflect early Black life in Ontario, Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

London

• Sunday July 27, 2025, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Emancipation Day Celebration, London 

Kincardine

• August 1, 2025, 11:00 am, Raising of Black Liberation flag for Emancipation Day/Month, Kincardine

Owen Sound

• 2025 marks the 163rd Emancipation Festival in Owen Sound
• Friday August 1st, 6:00pm to 9:00pm, Speaker's Corner
• Saturday August 2nd, 9:00am to 9:00pm, Emancipation Festival & Picnic, Harrison Park
• Sunday August 3rd, 12:00pm to 3:00pm, Gospel Sunday, BME Church of Owen Sound

Greater Toronto Area

Pickering

• Wednesday July 30, 2025, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Emancipation Day Celebration, Pickering  

Brampton

• Saturday August 9, 2025, 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Celebrate Emancipation Day

Niagara Peninsula

St. Catharines

• Sunday July 20th, 8:30am, Walk to Freedom, guided tour by Ken Johnston with 6 stops through historic 1850s Black community
• Friday July 25th, "Soul" Film screening at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
• Saturday July 26, 11am to 3pm, Self Guided Tour & Tour Talk, Salem Chapel BME Church
• Sunday July 27, 2025, 11:00am to 3:00pm: Salem Chapel BME Church tour in partnership with Tubman Tours Canada
• Sunday July 27, 2025 12 noon to dusk, Emancipation Day 2025 at Lakeside Park

Eastern Ontario

Kingston

• Friday August 1st, 2025, 11:30am, Flag-raising ceremony
• Friday August 1st, 2025, 12:30pm, Community Services fair
• Friday August 1st, 2025, evening, City Hall will be illuminated in colours of Pan African flag in recognition of Emancipation Day 

Morrisburg

• Friday August 1st, 2025, Emancipation Day Celebration, with guest speakers, music, and vendors

Nova Scotia

Dartmouth

• August 9, 2025, Emancipation Run/Walk 

New Brunswick

Prince William

• August 2, 2025, Emancipation Day Weekend,

British Columbia

Vancouver

• Vancouver City Council proclaims Emancipation Day

Some Emancipation events around Ontario:

• July 27, 2024, Dresden, Emancipation Day at Josiah Henson Museum of African Canadian History
• July 28, 2024, 11am to 5pm, Cambridge, Celebrating our History and our Legacy, Rhythm and Blues Cambridge
• July 28, 2024, 10am to 4pm, Emancipation Day, Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London
• August 1, 2024, Parry Sound, Toronto Mass Choir
• August 1, 2024, Nova Scotia, A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada, at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
• August 2, 2024, 10am to 6pm, Owen Sound, Emancipation Picnic
• August 3, 2024, 11am to 5pm, Black Block Party, Kingston
• August 4, 2024, Windsor, Emancipation Celebration Dinner & Dance, 6pm, Hellenic Cultural Centre, Windsor
• August 12, 2024, Windsor, Walter Perry Emancipation Golf Classic, Dominion Golf & Country Club, Windsor