The “Day of Mourning” is a day dedicated to honour those who lost their lives as a result of a work-related incident or occupational diseases. Day of Mourning ceremonies have been held across the country ever since the Canadian Labour Congress initiated a national Day of Mourning ceremony on April 28, 1984 and is now recognized annually around the world in more than 100 countries. April 28th was chosen because it was on this date in 1914 that the first Workers’ Compensation Act was brought into effect in Canada.

• Deaths from workplace injury average nearly a thousand per year in Canada.
• There are approximately one million workplace injuries a year in Canada
• A compensable injury occurs every seven seconds of each working day.

Additional coverage:

• Business in Vancouver by the Canadian Press: B.C. reports 138 work-related deaths in 2025; occupational diseases the leading cause
• Victoria Times Colonist, by Darron Kloster: Ceremonies on Tuesday to honour 138 B.C. workers who died last year “Across the province, the public administration sector — which almost entirely includes firefighters — accounted for the most deaths, with 27, followed by 19 who died while employed in construction, 14 in forestry jobs, eight in mining and seven in wood and paper manufacturing.”