One of the designs Coast Salish artist Bonny Graham designed for Pink Shirt Day
Albertans will be sprinkled pink on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
Pink Shirt Day is celebrated across Canada, and the theme of this year’s event is Sprinkle Kindness. Pink Shirt Day brings focus to the issues surrounding bullying, and raises funds to support programs that foster children’s healthy self-esteem
The history of Pink Shirt Day traces back to 2007 and an act of kindness. A group of Nova Scotia teens organized a high school protest by wearing pink to show support for a Grade 9 student who was being bullied because he wore a pink shirt. They purchased 50 pink tank tops from a discount store and the shirts were worn the next day by other students in the school.
Pink Shirt Day has grown, with people in almost 180 countries taking part.
In 2025, the campaign funded programs that impacted over 45,000 children and youth. Bullying is a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance. In addition to any physical trauma incurred, bullying can result in serious emotional problems, including anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression.
Bullying can be physical, verbal, social/relational (trying to hurt someone through exclusion, spreading rumours, or gossiping), and through technology (cyberbulling).
Pink Shirt Day falls on the last Wednesday of February, and anyone can put on pink to show they are anti-bullying.
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