The original idea for the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation in Canada stems from Australia’s National Sorry Day. On May 26, 1997, a report tabled in Federal Parliament shook Australia. The report titled “Bringing Them Home” detailed painful evidence of the removal of thousands of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It recommended that a ‘Sorry Day’ be held. A year later over half a million people responded, signing Sorry Books and taking part in ceremonies on Sorry Day.

Edward Colley In 1998, Edward Colley contacted Maggie Hodgson at the Assembly of First Nations to discuss how to begin a campaign to engage Canadians to petition the Prime Minister of Canada to apologize to the Aboriginal people of Canada for past wrongs and to offer opportunities for Canadians to apologize personally to Aboriginal Peoples. Edward Colley wanted the same value placed on Aboriginal Peoples as was placed on the Japanese Canadian Apology.

Maggie Hodgson referred him to Carol Jenkins of the Visions Centre of Innovation website at Nechi Institute to look at a web strategy to implement the idea. Together the seeds of the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation campaign were sown.

Though the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation chose to follow Australia’s lead by also using date of May 26th, there is one distinct difference between the two campaigns; NDHR is not only focused on Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal relations.

The National Day of Healing and Reconciliation is a grassroots movement to focus on healing in all nations by addressing lingering issues resulting from past injustices based on our culture, religion, or race. The intention is to move forward by educating ourselves about our history and to engage collectively within our families, communities, and across Canada for the purposes of healing and reconciliation.