The City of Burlington and Mayor’s Office mark numerous days of recognition, social justice matters and local, provincial, national and international events of importance through flag-lowerings, City-supported vigils, flag-raisings, proclamations/acknowledgements and Pier lightings.
This will be a standing page on the Mayor’s website listing those as they happen, beginning with the new 2022-2026 term.
PROCLAMATIONS:
A proclamation is an official announcement issued by the Mayor to recognize exceptional events, groups, people, or achievements in the City of Burlington. The goal of a proclamation is to recognize and celebrate achievements and to raise public awareness of important issues in Burlington.
For more information on proclamation criteria and how to request a proclamation, please click the link.
FLAG-RAISINGS:
Community groups and organizations can fill out an online form to submit a request for a flag-raising in Civic Square at Burlington City Hall to mark an event, an historical event or a specific month of recognition.
For more information on flag-raising criteria and how to request a flag-raising, please click the link.
PIER LIGHTINGS:
To request a pier lighting or for more information, please contact pier@burlington.ca. Please review the schedule for available dates and send your request ideally four months before your event date.
To view the current pier lightings scheduled for the calendar year, please click the link.
OTHER AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:
Key to the City
Launched by Mayor Marianne Meed Ward in 2019, the Key to the City program at the City of Burlington honours individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to our community.
To view previous Burlington Key to the City recipients, please click/tap the link.
Burlington Chamber of Commerce Mayor’s Awards
As part of its annual Business Excellence Awards, the Burlington Chamber of Commerce invites the Mayor to bestow an award of recognition, on behalf of the City of Burlington, to a local business/non-profit organization.
The Mayor’s awards have evolved many times over the years, often focusing on philanthropy, community engagement, and sustainability.
To view previous Chamber Mayor’s Award recipients, please click/tap the link.
• • • • •
Council Term (2022-2026) beginning on Nov. 15, 2022
Flag-lowerings:
May 2023
- To honour and pay respects to the family of 8-year-old Jayne Hounslow, who died on May 3, 2023 in the school parking lot at Burlington Central Public School — May 4, 2023
March 2023
- Death of two Edmonton Police Service officers in the line of duty: Const. Brett Ryan & Const. Travis Jordan — March 16, 2023
- Death of a 10-year-old girl from a fire in the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — March 13, 2023
February 2023
- Passing of Burlington Veteran Douglas Ross Rickard, among the last Canadian survivors of the Dieppe Raid of the Second World Ward — Feb. 24, 2023
January 2023
- Passing of former Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion — Jan. 29, 2023
- Passing of former Ontario Lieutenant-Governor David Onley — Jan. 16, 2023
- Passing of retired Burlington Fire Platoon Chief Clint Smith — Jan. 6, 2023
December 2022
- Death of OPP Provincial Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala killed in the line of duty — Dec. 29, 2022
- In honour of condo board members and their spouses in Vaughan who were murdered — Dec. 22, 2022
- In honour and memory of the 14 women murdered at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989 — Dec. 6, 2022
• • •
City-Supported Vigils:
May 2023
- To honour and pay respects to 8-year-old Jayne Hounslow and her family. Jayne died on May 3, 2023 in the school parking lot at Burlington Central Public School — May 29, 2023
February 2023
- One-Year Anniversary of Invasion of Ukraine Prayer Vigil at Holy Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church — Feb. 24, 2023
December 2022
- National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women at City Hall — Dec 6, 2022
- Orange the World Vigil to end violence against women and girls at City Hall — Dec. 5, 2022
• • •
Flag-raisings:
June 2023
- Pride Month — flag raised on May 31, 2023
- Black Music Month — flag raised on June 1, 2023
- Aphasia Awareness Month — flag raised on June 5, 2023
- AccessAbility Week (May 28-June 3) — flag raised on May 29, 2023
May 2023
- AccessAbility Week (May 28-June 3) — flag raised on May 29, 2023
- Canada-Netherlands Friendship Day (May 5, 2023) — flag raised on May 5, 2023
- Canadian Navy Week (May 5-12, 2023) / End of The Battle of the Atlantic (May 7, 1945) — flag raised on May 5, 2023
- National Doctors’ Day (May 1, 2023) — flag raised on May 1, 2023
April 2023
- City of Burlington Designated Among ‘Tree Cities of the World’ by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Arbor Day Foundation — flag raised on April 24, 2023
- Sikh Heritage Month — flag raised on March 31, 2023
- Food for Life’s Food for Good Week (April 21-29, 2023) — flag raised on April 21, 2023
- Dig Safe Month — flag raised on April 11, 2023
March 2023
- World Down Syndrome Day — flag raised on March 21, 2023
February 2023
- Special Olympics Week in Burlington (Feb. 27-March 6, 2023) — flag raised on Feb. 27, 2023
December 2022
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec. 3) via Deputy Mayor & Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman — flag raised on Dec. 2, 2022
November 2022
- Giving Tuesday — Nov. 29, 2022
• • •
Proclamations/Acknowledgements:
June 2023
- National Indigenous History Month — June 2023
- Pride Month – June 2023
- Black Music Month — June 2023
- Ontario Seniors’ Month — June 2023
- Italian Heritage Month — June 2023
- Bike Month — June 2023
- Month of Play — June 2023
- Aphasia Awareness Month — June 2023
- Ontario PTSD Awareness Day — June 27, 2023
- Canadian Multiculturalism Day — June 27, 2023
- National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism — June 23, 2023
- National Indigenous Peoples’ Day — June 21, 2023
- Father’s Day — June 18, 2023
- Canada Clean Air Day – June 7, 2023
- D-Day — June 6, 2023
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa Awareness Week: June 6-12, 2023
- School Crossing Guard Appreciation Week — June 5-9, 2023
- United Nations World Environment Day — June 5, 2023
- Canada Environment Week — June 4-10, 2023
- National AccessAbility Week: May 28 – June 3, 2023
May 2023
- Asian Heritage Month — May 2023
- Jewish Heritage Month — May 2023
- Building Safety Month — May 2023
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (GBS-CIDP) Month — May 2023
- Lyme Disease Awareness Month — May 2023
- Red Shirt Day — May 31, 2023
- National AccessAbility Week: May 28 – June 3, 2023
- Menstrual Health Day — May 28, 2023
- Shavuot — May 25-27, 2023
- National Missing Children’s Day — May 25, 2023
- Victoria Day — May 22, 2023
- National Paramedic Services Week — May 21-27, 2023
- National Safe Boating Awareness Week — May 20-26, 2023
- Personal Support Worker Day — May 19, 2023
- International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia — May 17, 2023
- Canadian Navy Week — May 5-12, 2023
- National Victims & Survivors of Crime Week — May 14-20, 2023
- National Police Week — May 14-20, 2023
- Mother’s Day — May 14, 2023
- World Migratory Bird Day — May 13, 2023
- National Nursing Week — May 8-14, 2023
- Red Dress Day — May 5, 2023
- Canada Netherlands Friendship Day — May 5, 2023
- Polish Week: April 29-May 5, 2023
- International Firefighters’ Day — May 4, 2023
- Star Wars Day – ‘May the Fourth Be With You’ — May 4, 2023
- First Responders’ Day — May 1, 2023
- National Doctors’ Day — May 1, 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
April 2023
- Be A Donor Month — April 2023
- Sikh Heritage Month — April 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
- Dig Safe Month — April 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
- Polish Week: April 29-May 5, 2023
- Food for Life FOOD FOR GOOD Week — April 22-30, 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
- World Primary Immunodeficiency Week — April 22-29, 2023
- Eid-al-Fitr (end of Ramadan) — April 20-21, 2023
- Ramadan — March 22-April 20, 2023
- National Volunteer Week — April 16-22, 2023
- Orthodox & Eastern Christian Easter Sunday — April 16, 2023
- Easter Sunday — April 9, 2023
- Good Friday — April 7, 2023
- Green Shirt Day — April 7, 2023
- Passover — April 5-13, 2023
March 2023
- Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) Awareness Month — March 2023
- Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month — March 2023
- International Transgender Day of Visibility — March 31, 2023
- In Memoriam Day (for all Burlington residents who passed away in 2022) — March 30, 2023
- Purple Day (Global Day for Epilepsy Awareness) — March 26, 2023
- Earth Hour — March 25, 2023
- School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day — March 23, 2023
- Ramadan — March 22-April 20, 2023
- Chaitra Navratri — March 22, 2023
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — March 21, 2023
- World Down Syndrome Day — March 21, 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
- Shri Mataji Devi Day – 100 Year Celebration of The Festival of New Beginnings — March 21, 2023
- Nowruz (Iranian/Persian New Year) — March 20, 2023
- Transit Operator & Worker Appreciation Day — March 18, 2023
- St. Patrick’s Day — March 17, 2023
- Holi — March 8, 2023
- International Women’s Day — March 8, 2023
- Employee Appreciation Day — March 3, 2023
- Orthodox, Coptic & Eastern Christian Ash Wednesday — March 1, 2023
- Special Olympics Week in Burlington — Feb. 27-March 6, 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
February 2023
- Black History Month — February 2023
- Rare Disease Awareness Day — Feb. 28, 2023
- Special Olympics Week in Burlington — Feb. 27-March 6, 2023 (also had a flag-raising)
- World Thinking Day — Feb. 22, 2023
- Ash Wednesday — Feb. 22, 2023
- Pink Shirt Day — Feb. 22, 2023
- Human Trafficking Awareness Day — Feb. 22, 2023
- Family Day — Feb. 20, 2023
- Random Acts of Kindness Day — Feb. 17, 2023
- Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week — Feb. 13-19, 2023
- National Flag of Canada Day — Feb. 15, 2023
- Valentine’s Day — Feb. 14, 2023
- International Day of Women & Girls in Science — Feb. 11, 2023
- Groundhog Day — Feb. 2, 2023
- International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation: Feb. 6, 2023 — Feb. 6, 2023
January 2023
- CrimeStoppers Awareness Month — January 2023
- National Day of Remembrance & Action Against Islamophobia — Jan. 29, 2023
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day — Jan. 27, 2023
- Bell Let’s Talk Day — Jan. 25, 2023
- Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit) — Jan. 22, 2023
- Lincoln Alexander Day — Jan. 21, 2023
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Jan. 16, 2023 (third Monday in January)
- Black Shirt Day — Jan. 15, 2023
- Orthodox, Coptic and Eastern Christian Christmas — Jan 7, 2023
- National Ribbon Skirt Day — Jan. 4, 2023 (inaugural)
December 2022
- New Year’s Eve/Day — Dec. 31, 2022
- Kwanzaa — Dec. 26, 2022-Jan. 1, 2023
- Christmas — Dec. 25, 2022
- Hanukkah — Dec. 18-26, 2022
- The Salvation Army Week — Dec. 18-24, 2022
- International Day for the Abolition of Slavery — Dec. 12, 2022
- World Human Rights Day — Dec. 10, 2022
- International Volunteer Day — Dec. 5, 2022
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities — Dec. 3, 2022 (also had a flag-raising)
November 2022
- Women Abuse Prevention Month — November 2022
- Giving Tuesday — Nov. 29, 2022 (also had a flag-raising)
- Small Business Saturday — Nov. 26, 2022
- Economic Abuse Awareness Day — Nov. 26, 2022
- International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — Nov. 25, 2022
- Transgender Day of Remembrance — Nov. 20, 2022
- 2022 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims — Nov. 20, 2022
- National Children’s Grief Awareness Day — Nov. 17, 2022
- I Read Canadian Day — Nov. 2, 2022