Cultures · the heritage year
Heritage months in Canada, month by month.
Black History Month in February, Asian Heritage Month in May, Filipino and Italian in June, Latin American in October, Lebanese in November: who set each one, and the Ottawa communities behind it.
Seventeen months · Canada and Ontario
In short
The Government of Canada lists seventeen heritage and history months. They run from Tamil Heritage Month in January to Lebanese and Hindu Heritage Months in November; June alone holds four. Some are set by an Act of Parliament (Sikh, Latin American, Lebanese), others by motion, and Ontario adds Acts of its own.
The year, at a glance.
Twelve months; July, August, September and December carry no heritage month: July to September belong to the festivals, December to the holidays.
Twelve months
- JanTamil
- FebBlack
- MarIrish
- AprSikh
- MayAsian · Jewish · Polish
- JunIndigenous · Italian · Filipino · Portuguese
- Julfestival season
- Augfestival season
- Sepfestival season
- OctGerman · Islamic · Latin American · Women's
- NovHindu · Lebanese
- Decthe holidays
Seventeen months, and who set each one.
Canada: an Act of Parliament where there is one, else the motion or the federal list. Ontario: the provincial Act.
| Month | Heritage month | Canada | Ontario | In Ottawa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Tamil Heritage Month | On the federal list | Tamil Heritage Month Act, 2014 | South & East Asia in Ottawa |
| February | Black History Month | House of Commons, December 1995, on a motion by Jean Augustine; Senate, March 2008 | · | African Ottawa |
| March | Irish Heritage Month | House of Commons motion | · | · |
| April | Sikh Heritage Month | Sikh Heritage Month Act (S.C. 2019, c. 5) | Sikh Heritage Month Act, 2013 | Punjabi Ottawa |
| May | Asian Heritage Month | Senate motion, 2001; Government of Canada declaration, May 2002 | Asian Heritage Act, 2005 | South & East Asia in Ottawa |
| May | Canadian Jewish Heritage Month | On the federal list | Jewish Heritage Month Act, 2012 | · |
| May | Polish Heritage Month | On the federal list | · | Eastern Europe in Ottawa |
| June | National Indigenous History Month | On the federal list | · | Unceded Algonquin territory |
| June | Italian Heritage Month | On the federal list | Italian Heritage Month Act, 2010 | Italian Week, Preston Street |
| June | Filipino Heritage Month | On the federal list | Filipino Heritage Month Act, 2021 | Filipino Ottawa |
| June | Portuguese Heritage Month | On the federal list | · | · |
| October | German Heritage Month | On the federal list | · | · |
| October | Canadian Islamic History Month | On the federal list | · | Middle East & Maghreb in Ottawa |
| October | Latin American Heritage Month | Latin American Heritage Month Act (S.C. 2018, c. 19) | Hispanic Heritage Month Act, 2015 | Latin America in Ottawa |
| October | Women's History Month | On the federal list | · | · |
| November | Hindu Heritage Month | On the federal list | · | South & East Asia in Ottawa |
| November | Lebanese Heritage Month | Lebanese Heritage Month Act (S.C. 2023, c. 13) | Lebanese Heritage Month Act, 2017 | Lebanese Ottawa |
From the Government of Canada's list of important and commemorative days; the histories of Black History Month and Asian Heritage Month from Canadian Heritage; federal Acts on the Justice Laws website; Ontario Acts on Ontario e-Laws.
Your month, on this site and on the field.
Two things Capital Cultures does with a community, in its month or any other.
An article
An article about your community in Ottawa, with its Census 2021 numbers, written with you and corrected by you. Ottawa's cultures.
How it works
Write with the form on the cultures index, send what matters, read the draft and sign it. A person answers every application and every message within ten working days.
A pavilion
In September 2027, at a free two-day multicultural festival in Ottawa, where each community runs its own pavilion and keeps what its counter takes. Host a pavilion.
Cost
The pavilion fee is $0, and every dollar the counter takes stays with the community. The agreement.
Short answers
What people ask about heritage months, answered from the table above.
Seven questions
What heritage months are there in Canada?
Seventeen on the federal list: Tamil (January), Black History (February), Irish (March), Sikh (April), Asian, Canadian Jewish and Polish (May), National Indigenous History, Italian, Filipino and Portuguese (June), German, Canadian Islamic History, Latin American and Women's History (October), Hindu and Lebanese (November).
When is Lebanese Heritage Month?
In November. The Lebanese Heritage Month Act (S.C. 2023, c. 13) sets it for all of Canada, and Ontario's Lebanese Heritage Month Act, 2017 sets the same month in the province. Lebanese Ottawa.
When is Filipino Heritage Month in Ottawa?
In June, on the federal list and under Ontario's Filipino Heritage Month Act, 2021. Philippine Independence Day falls in the same month. Filipino Ottawa.
When did Canada recognise Black History Month?
The House of Commons recognised February as Black History Month in December 1995, on a motion by Jean Augustine, and the Senate adopted its own motion in March 2008. African Ottawa.
Is Hispanic Heritage Month the same as Latin American Heritage Month?
Both fall in October. The federal Act of 2018 names it Latin American Heritage Month; Ontario's Act of 2015 names it Hispanic Heritage Month. Latin America in Ottawa.
Which months have no heritage month?
July, August, September and December. In Ottawa the summer belongs to the community festivals instead. Ottawa's community festivals, 2027.
How can my community mark its month with Capital Cultures?
Write your community's article with us through the cultures index, and bring the community to the festival in September 2027 with a pavilion of its own. A person answers every application and every message within ten working days.