In September 2020, a new 3D TORONTO Sign was installed at Nathan Phillips Square.
A more durable replica of the original (installed in July 2015 for the Toronto 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games) the Sign is illuminated, stands three metres tall and features a designed vinyl wrap on the outer edges of the of its letters.
The current vinyl wrap is an artwork titled Rekindle, designed by Toronto-based artist Joseph Sagaj in recognition of UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 to 2032).
December 2 – Women’s Brain Health Day (Purple)
December 2 – GivingTuesday Campaign (Red, Orange & White)
December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Blue)
December 6 – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Dimmed)
December 10 – Human Rights Day (Blue)
November 1 – Shine the Light on Woman Abuse Campaign (Purple)
November 1 – Alzheimer’s Awareness Month (Teal)
November 1 – Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) Awareness Day (Purple & Green)
November 1 – Project Red Ribbon (Red)
November 2 – Toronto Argonauts Eastern Semi-Finals (Double Blue)
November 3 – Treaties Recognition Week (Purple & White)
November 4 – 11 – Remembrance Week (Poppy Red)
November 8 – Indigenous Veterans Day (Medicine Wheel colours: Yellow, Red, Black & White)
November 12 – Daily Bread Food Bank (Yellow & Green)
November 12 – World Pneumonia Day (Blue)
November 14 – National Runaway Prevention Month (Green)
November 14 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 1 (Red)
November 15 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 2 (Red)
November 16 – Louis Riel Day (Blue & White)
November 16 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 3 (Red)
November 17 – Toronto Argonauts Grey Cup Championship Game (Double Blue)
November 17 – Cervical Cancer Awareness (Teal)
November 17 – Lung Cancer Awareness Month (Green & White)
November 17 – World Prematurity Day (Purple)
November 18 – Restorative Justice Week (Purple & Orange)
November 19 – To mark the Toronto Argonauts’ Grey Cup Championship (Double Blue)
November 20 – Transgender Day of Remembrance (Dimmed)
November 21 – Children’s Grief Awareness Day (Blue)
November 21 – Pancreatic Cancer Day (Purple)
November 21 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 4 (Red)
November 22 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 5 (Red)
November 22 – Eczema Awareness Month (Blue)
November 23 – Taylor Swift Eras Tour Date 6 (Red)
November 24 – World Antimicrobial Resistance Week (Blue)
November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Orange)
November 25 – Radon Action Month (Purple)
November 30 – Cavalcade of Lights (Green)
November 30 – Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Month (Red)
November 30 – Stomach Cancer Awareness Month (Periwinkle Blue)
November 30 – Toronto Sceptres Home Opener Game (Blue & Yellow)
October 1 – Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Pink)
October 2 – Wrongful Conviction Day (Yellow & White)
October 4 – Sisters in Spirit (Red)
October 5 – Fire Prevention Week (Red & Yellow)
October 6 – Ravine’s Day (Red, Orange & Yellow)
October 6 – Green Sports Day (Green)
October 9 – World Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS) Day (Red)
October 9 – World Day of Bullying Prevention (Blue)
October 12 – Toronto Maple Leafs Season Home Opener Game (Blue & White)
October 13 – World Thrombosis Day (Red & Blue)
October 15 – Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day (Purple)
October 17 – National Disability Employment Awareness Month (Blue & Purple)
October 19 – Dyslexia Awareness Month (Red)
October 19 – Global Dysautonomia Awareness Month (Turquoise)
October 21 – Circular Economy Month (Blue & Green)
October 23 – Toronto Raptors Season Home Opener Game (Red & Purple)
October 24 – National Respiratory Therapy Week (Orange & Purple)
October 24 – World Polio Day (Red, Yellow & White)
October 25 – Dress Purple Day (Purple)
October 27 – World Occupational Therapy Day (Blue)
October 29 – Rett Syndrome Awareness Month (Purple)
September 1 – World Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Day (Teal)
September 1 – Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (Blue)
September 1 – Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (Gold)
September 3 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in the Men’s SB14 100-metre breaststroke on August 2 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 4 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in the Men’s T51 200-metre on August 3 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 5 – To mark Team Canada’s two gold medal wins in Men’s SM14 200-metre individual medley & Men’s F46 shot put final on August 4 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 6 – To mark Team Canada’s two gold medals in Women’s S10 400-metre freestyle & Men’s T53 800-metre on August 5 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 7 – To mark Team Canada’s two gold medal wins in Men’s T51 100-metre & Men’s S4 50-metre freestyle on August 6 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 7 – World Duchenne Awareness Day (Red)
September 7 – Trinibago Festival (Red, White & Black)
September 8 – Firefighters’ National Memorial Day (Dimmed)
September 9 – To mark Team Canada’s two gold medal wins in Men’s T34 800-metre & Women’s S7 50-metre butterfly on August 7 at the Paris Paralympics 2024 (Gold)
September 9 – Living Donation Week (Green)
September 9 – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day (Red)
September 9 – International 9p Minus Awareness Day (Blue & Green)
September 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day (Yellow)
September 13 – World Sepsis Day (Pink)
September 14 – Craniofacial Acceptance Month (Red, Yellow & Blue)
September 15 – World Lymphoma Awareness Day (Purple)
September 16 – National Coaches Week (Blue, Yellow & Red)
September 18 – Big Brothers Big Sisters Day (Teal)
September 19 – Histiocytosis Awareness Month (Blue)
September 21 – World Mitochondrial Disease Week (Green)
September 21 – International Day of Peace (Rainbow)
September 23 – International Day of Sign Languages (Blue)
September 25 – National Forest Week (Green)
September 25 – Rowan’s Law Day (Purple)
September 25 – Franco-Ontarian Day (Green & White)
September 27 – Indigenous Legacy Gathering (Orange)
September 28 – Spirit Garden (Orange)
September 29 – Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day (Dimmed)
September 30 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Orange)
For the month of August – Emancipation Month (Red, Black & White)
August 2 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in swimming for the Women’s 200-metre butterfly, on August 1 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 3 – Taste of India (Orange, White & Green)
August 4 – International Autoinflammatory Awareness Month (Orange)
August 4 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in swimming for the Women’s 200-metre individual medley, on August 3 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 5 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in athletics for the Men’s hammer throw on August 4 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 7 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in athletics for the Women’s hammer throw on August 6 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 10 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in athletics for the Men’s 4×100 metre on August 9 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 11 – To mark Team Canada’s 2 gold medal wins for Canoe sprint single 200 metre & Men’s break dancing on August 10 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
August 15 – Toronto Zoo’s 50th Anniversary (Green & White)
August 18 – Panoroma India Festival (Orange, White & Green)
August 19 – 150th Anniversary of Firefighting Services in Toronto (Red)
August 28 – In support of Team Canada during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Summer Games (Red & White)
August 30 – Appendix Cancer Awareness Month (Amber)
August 31 – International Overdose Awareness Day (Purple)
July 1 – Canada Day (Red & White)
July 5 – National Injury Prevention Day (Green)
July 9 – 50 Days until the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (Red, Gold, & Violet)
July 22 – World Fragile X Day (Teal)
July 26 – In support of Team Canada during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Red & White)
July 29 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in judo in the Women’s under 57 kilogram category at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
July 30 – To mark Team Canada’s gold medal win in swimming for the Women’s 400-meter individual medley, on July 29 at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Gold)
June – Pride Month (Rainbow)
June 6 – Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) Awareness Week (Purple)
June 7 – National Day Against Gun Violence (Dimmed)
June 9 – Toronto Argonauts Home Opener Game (Double Blue)
June 10 – Portuguese Heritage Month (Red, Green & Yellow)
June 14 – Cavernous Malformation Awareness Day (Burgundy, White & Black)
June 14 – World Blood Donor Day (Red)
June 17 – CDKL5 Awareness Day (Lime Green)
June 19 – World Sickle Cell Awareness Day (Red & White)
June 20 – World Kidney Cancer Day (Green)
June 20 – World Refugee Day (Blue)
June 21 – National Indigenous Peoples Day (Medicine Wheel colours: Yellow, Red, Black & White)
June 23 – National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (Dimmed)
June 24 – X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) Awareness Day (Purple & White)
June 25 – World Vitiligo Day (Purple)
June 27 – Canadian Multiculturalism Day (Red & White)
June 30 – ALS Awareness Month (Purple)
Title: Rekindle
Artwork by: Joseph Segaj in collaboration with Holly Fischer
The artwork design on the TORONTO Sign puts emphasis on highlighting Indigenous culture and showing on-going relationships of moving forward in positive light is of vital importance.
The City of Toronto recognizes UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 to 2032).
Joseph is Anishnaabe (Ojibwe) of the Sturgeon Clan, from the remote community of Neskantaga, approximately 500 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He graduated in Fine Arts at the Ontario College of Art & Design in 1985.
Throughout Joseph’s 30-year career, Joseph feels honored in sharing his Anishnaabe ancestry and heritage into his expression of various forms of art. He has featured Indigenous knowledge, culture and teachings at the forefront with great pride that is reflected in his art.
Joseph continues to live and work in Toronto. Learn more about Joseph.
The 3D Medicine Wheel, a new addition to the TORONTO Sign, was installed on June 18, 2018 in honour of Indigenous Peoples and timed to elevate awareness of National Indigenous Peoples Day (formally National Aboriginal Day) on June 21.
This Medicine Wheel symbol was chosen, in consultation with the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, as it is an emblem of North American Indigenous cultural values, tradition and spirituality. Its four directions (East, South, West and North) symbolize completeness, wholeness, connectedness and strength.
A 3D leaf structure was temporarily added to the TORONTO Sign in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th birthday.
The original TORONTO Sign was installed on Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall in July 2015 for the Toronto Pan American and Parapan American Games. Although it was only intended to last a few weeks, in response to the sign’s popularity, the City of Toronto extended its presence on the Square and it became a Toronto landmark.
The Medicine Wheel was added on June 18, 2018 in honour of Indigenous Peoples and to increase awareness of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.
The Medicine Wheel symbol was chosen, in consultation with Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, as it is an emblem of North American Indigenous cultural values, tradition and spirituality. Its four directions (East, South, West and North) symbolize completeness, wholeness, connectedness and strength.
A maple leaf was added to the TORONTO Sign in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th birthday.
The TORONTO Sign has become symbolic of Toronto. According to a Destination Toronto visitor survey, the TORONTO sign was one of the top three most visited attractions in the city and it is consistently ranked as one of the most Instagram-worthy spots.
In September 2020, a more durable replica of the original TORONTO Sign was installed.
The TORONTO Sign Celebratory and Commemorative Lighting Program offers an opportunity to:
The Canada 150 3D Leaf will not be included in the TORONTO Sign Commemorative Lighting Program. During Commemorative Lightings, the maple leaf will appear in either a neutral white, or red shade.
Please note that in the event of an extenuating circumstance, approved lighting requests may be subject to revision or delay by the City.
All TORONTO Sign lighting requests must adhere to the overarching criteria and fall within the established categories. Prior to submitting your request, review the criteria below.
All lighting requests must be:
Submissions must include:
A formal request on the organization’s official letterhead, including the following details:
Third party requests made on behalf of others:
The City cannot accept requests made by third parties on behalf of other organizations or individuals. All requests must be made by the organization itself to ensure that:
All requests will be reviewed by City of Toronto staff to ensure that they clearly adhere to the lighting criteria.
City of Toronto staff have full and final authority to implement the TORONTO Sign Celebratory and Commemorative Lighting Program criteria. By submitting a lighting request for the TORONTO Sign, the applicant agrees that the decisions of City staff are final.
All 3D TORONTO Sign lighting requests must adhere to the following Overarching Criteria:
All applications must comply with the above noted criteria, as determined by the Chief of Protocol, in order to be considered.
*Special Events Office Event Category Definitions Categories A & B
The Sign will be lit annually for Toronto’s professional sports teams on the following occasions:
The Sign can be lit upon request for international amateur sports competitions that are hosted in Toronto and/or include participation of Toronto and Canadian athletes on the following occasions:
The Sign can be lit upon request for local amateur sports teams that are representing or have brought honour to Toronto during national/international competitions on the following occasions: