Creating Menstrual Equity: On MH Day and Beyond

May 28 is Menstrual Health Day (MH Day*) – an annual, global awareness day that mobilizes governments, organizations, and individuals in over 75 countries for a period-friendly world. 

Since 2014, MH Day has been transforming the narrative around periods: away from silence, shame, and struggle towards awareness, dignity, and access.

Everyone has a stake in creating period equity. This MH Day, we’re calling on all Canadians to join us in making it a reality for all.

Menstrual Health Day is Everyday
 

Since TPP’s early-days grassroots advocacy led to Toronto’s first recognition of MH Day in 2018, our role in the fight for menstrual equity in Canada has only grown in scale and impact.

Menstrual equity isn’t something we talk about once a year and then forget about. At TPP, Menstrual Health Day is Everyday. 

This year, we’re calling on folks to make a lasting impact by: 

1. Saying the word period in a way that is most comfortable for you: at school, at work, or around the dinner table. Breaking the silence is the first step to ending the stigma.

2. Creating spaces where menstruators feel safe, seen and supported at school, at home and in the workplace. 

3. Collaborating with your neighbours, coworkers or friends to collect period products for your local food bank or shelter, or donating directly to the cause of menstrual equity.  

Attend an MH Day Event Near You!
 

Each year, TPP teams up with businesses, schools, and all levels of government across Canada to celebrate MH Day and end the silence and stigma around periods. 

This year, our cause’s visibility will be the most monumental it’s ever been… literally! 

Spanning 9 provinces, MH Day 2025 will be celebrated with:

• 60+ red monument lightings 

• 18 raised period flags 

• 45+ signed proclamations recognizing MH Day in cities across Canada

Be sure to check out the monument closest to you and tag us @theperiodpurse in any social posts! 

If you don’t see your city listed and you’d like to change that in 2026, our advocacy team would love to hear from you.

TPP will be out and about celebrating MH Day at events in Ottawa, Halifax, Toronto, and Orangeville. Our largest activation will be at Toronto City Hall at 9:30 a.m – we’d love to see you there!

Taking Action for a Period-Friendly Canada
 

Imagine a Canada where no one misses school or work because of their period. 

Where period products are free and accessible in every public washroom, just like toilet paper. 

Where accurate, inclusive menstrual education is taught in every classroom.

In this period-friendly Canada, stigma is replaced with knowledge, compassion, and equitable policy.

This Menstrual Health Day, your voice and actions matter more than ever. 

By saying the word “period,” creating a period-friendly space, and providing menstruators in need with the resources to have a healthy period, you’re making a real difference in building a period-friendly Canada, today and everyday. 

Collectively, we have the power to turn May 28 into a movement, not just a moment.

Because at The Period Purse, Menstrual Health Day is Every Day – and it always will be.

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*Periods are a natural human experience. As such, The Period Purse (TPP) uses “Menstrual Health Day” instead of “Menstrual Hygiene Day” to challenge the notion that periods are a ‘dirty’ or ‘unclean’ thing in need of hygiene initiatives. 

Our goal is to encompass the important work being done in menstrual education and advocacy to end both period poverty and period stigma. In alliance with partnering organizations, we are united in calling this important day MH Day.