THUNDER BAY – May 5, 2025 – Today, red dresses hang in windows, on fences, and in trees across Canada—including here in Thunder Bay—marking National Red Dress Day, a solemn day of remembrance for the thousands of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S+) people.
This annual national day of awareness—observed every May 5—is a powerful call to justice, reflection, and action. The red dress has become a symbol of the lives stolen, voices silenced, and families forever changed by violence rooted in colonization, racism, and systemic inequality.
Thunder Bay Joins the Movement
In Thunder Bay and across Northwestern Ontario, Red Dress Day holds deep significance. Community members, families, and advocacy organizations are gathering to participate in vigils, awareness walks, and ceremonies.
Each empty dress displayed represents a life taken—and a call for accountability.
A National Crisis, An Ongoing Fight
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report in 2019, calling the crisis a “Canadian genocide” and outlining 231 Calls for Justice. Five years later, families and advocates say implementation has been slow, uneven, and lacking urgency.
As of 2025, advocates report that:
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More than 4,000 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered since the 1970s.
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Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than non-Indigenous women.
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The true number is likely much higher, due to underreporting and gaps in national data collection.
2SLGBTQ+ and Gender-Diverse Voices in Focus
This year’s commemorations are increasingly inclusive of 2SLGBTQ+ and gender-diverse Indigenous people, often referred to with the expanded acronym MMIWGMBTS (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Men, Boys, and Two-Spirit people).
They too are disproportionately targeted by violence and discrimination, and their stories are often erased.
Local Action and Accountability Needed
Thunder Bay has been named in past national reports as a region needing urgent attention, particularly in how police and institutions respond to cases involving Indigenous women and girls. Families continue to advocate for:
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Independent case reviews
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Support for victims’ families
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Improved housing, healthcare, and transportation services
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Culturally appropriate mental health supports
How to Participate
Red Dress Day is about both remembrance and action. Here’s how you can take part:
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Wear red today in solidarity.
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Hang a red dress outside your home or workplace.
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Attend local vigils or awareness walks.
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Read and share the 231 Calls for Justice.
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Donate to grassroots Indigenous-led organizations supporting families and survivors.
Final Word: Never Forgotten
Today, Thunder Bay stands with communities across Turtle Island to say: we remember. We honour. And we demand better.
The red dresses blow in the wind not as a decoration, but as a declaration—that every life matters, and that justice delayed is justice denied.
