Travel Guide

Diwali in Canada 2026: Dates, Toronto Events, Celebrations

Diwali is Sunday, November 8, 2026. See Toronto, Brampton, Vancouver and Calgary events, Lakshmi Puja timing, temples and city fireworks rules.

Ayush Pandey October 21, 2026 · 16 min read

Diwali in Canada 2026: Dates, Toronto Events, Celebrations

Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8, 2026 in Canada, and the five-day festival runs from Friday, November 6 to Tuesday, November 10. It is not a public holiday, so the big community events land on weekends before and after the day itself. This guide covers the dates, the events we could confirm in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Vancouver and Calgary, temples, food, and the part that trips up the most families: fireworks, which each city regulates differently.

The 2021 Census counted 828,195 Hindus, 771,790 Sikhs and 8,275 Jains in Canada. Ontario is home to about 573,700 of the Hindus, and the Toronto area alone holds more than half of them. Hindus light lamps for Lakshmi, Jains mark Mahavira's nirvana and Sikhs observe Bandi Chhor Divas, so a Diwali event in Canada is often a mixed crowd of all three, plus a lot of friends and neighbours.

Everything below was checked against city pages, organizer listings and official sources on October 21, 2026. Where something could not be confirmed, we say so.

Diwali 2026 Date in Canada: The Five Days

The main day, Lakshmi Puja, is Sunday, November 8. Diwali falls on the new moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, so the date moves between mid-October and mid-November. This year it is late.

Day	Festival	Canada date	What usually happens
1	Dhanteras	Friday, Nov 6	Cleaning the home, buying gold, silver or a new utensil
2	Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)	Saturday, Nov 7	First lamps and rangoli
3	Diwali, Lakshmi Puja	Sunday, Nov 8	Evening puja, diyas, sweets, family dinner
4	Govardhan Puja, Annakut	Monday, Nov 9	Food offerings at temples; Gujarati New Year follows
5	Bhai Dooj	Tuesday, Nov 10	Sisters pray for brothers and apply a tilak

Naraka Chaturdashi, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj are each a day earlier in Canada than in India, because the lunar day changes at a different clock time. Lakshmi Puja is on November 8 in both. Use a panchang set to a Canadian city, not an Indian calendar.

Lakshmi Puja time on November 8

The puja is done in the evening, after sunset. Daylight saving time ended on November 1, so it gets dark early. For Toronto, Drik Panchang lists the Lakshmi Puja window as 5:17 PM to 7:03 PM. Do not convert India's muhurat to Canadian time; it lands in the early morning here and is the wrong hour. For Vancouver, Calgary and other cities, the times differ by a few hours across time zones, so use a panchang set to your own city or follow your temple's printed time.

History and Significance

The best-known story comes from the Ramayana. After fourteen years of exile and the defeat of Ravana, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya, and the city lit lamps along every path to welcome him. That is why diyas are at the centre of the festival. Other traditions tie the night to Lakshmi, who is said to visit clean, lit homes. Jains remember Mahavira's liberation, Sikhs remember the release of Guru Hargobind from Gwalior Fort, and Bengal marks the night with Kali Puja. The shared thread is light over darkness, and a fresh start.

In Canada, the festival has slowly moved into public life. Canada Post has issued Diwali stamps since 2017, and its 2025 stamp, a rangoli design, was cancelled in Scarborough, Ontario, home to a large Indian Canadian community. City squares in Toronto and Brampton now host free public festivals.

How Diwali Is Celebrated in Canadian Homes

The core is simple and works well in an apartment or a house. Families clean and decorate, light lamps at dusk, do a short Lakshmi and Ganesh puja, eat together and share sweets.

Diyas: Clay lamps with oil or ghee are traditional. Many condo and rental rules limit open flames, so battery diyas are a sensible backup. Never leave a lit lamp near curtains.
Rangoli: Colored powder, rice flour or flower petals at the entrance. In winter, keep it indoors or under a porch, because snow and slush will wash it away.
Sweets: Ladoo, barfi, jalebi, kaju katli and gulab jamun, often exchanged between neighbours in boxes.
Puja: Lakshmi and Ganesh with flowers, incense and aarti. Gujarati families also do Chopda Pujan, opening new account books.

A simple Diwali evening at home

Clean the house on Dhanteras or Choti Diwali, and put a rangoli or string of lights near the front door.
Check the Lakshmi Puja window for your city and plan to sit down just after sunset.
Set up a clean shelf with Lakshmi and Ganesh images, flowers, fruit and sweets.
Light the diyas, starting near the puja space, then the doorway and windows.
Do the puja and aarti, then offer sweets.
Share the sweets, eat dinner together, and call relatives far away.

Is Diwali a Holiday in Canada?

No. Diwali is not a statutory or public holiday in Canada, and most employers and schools stay open. A CTV News report noted that a petition to make it a public holiday had gathered nearly 16,000 signatures, but we could not find any province that has since made it one. If you need the day, ask early. Provincial human rights codes, including Ontario's, require employers to consider reasonable religious accommodation.

Be careful with websites that say Diwali is a school holiday in Ontario. We could not find an official source for that claim. Check your own school board calendar, and ask the school about an absence for Dhanteras, Govardhan Puja or Bhai Dooj, which fall on regular school days.

Best Cities and Places to Celebrate Diwali in Canada

Toronto: The 4th annual Diwali Festival of Lights is at Nathan Phillips Square on October 24 and 25. It is a free, family-friendly event with live music and dance, Indian food, artisan stalls, and a musical fireworks show over the skyline, according to the listing. North York's Diwali Festival is at Mel Lastman Square from October 23 to 25.
Brampton: The city's own Diwali Mela is listed for Sunday, November 8 from 4 PM at Sesquicentennial Park, free. Brampton has hosted it for several years with a fireworks and drone show and shuttle buses, so check brampton.ca/diwali for this year's details.
Mississauga: We could not confirm a big city-run festival. Look to local temples and banquet halls, and see the fireworks rules below.
Vancouver area: The Diwali Celebration Society, which runs Diwali Fest, lists free events in several cities through the first half of November, including Vancouver, Coquitlam and New Westminster.
Calgary: A Diwali Mela is listed for Sunday, November 1 at the Hindu Mandir in the northeast, and there are restaurant and banquet-hall events around it.

Temples worth knowing

Temple	City	Good to know
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir	Etobicoke, Toronto	61 Claireville Drive; call ahead for Annakut and New Year times
Hindu Heritage Centre	Mississauga, ON	Hindu temple in Mississauga; check its website for Diwali programs
Hindu Mandir	Calgary, AB	2225 24 Avenue NE; hosts a Diwali Mela listed for Nov 1, 11 AM to 3 PM

Temple programs change from year to year, and many do not publish times until the last week. Look at the temple's own website or call. Temples welcome visitors of all backgrounds; dress modestly and expect to remove your shoes.

Diwali Events and Timings: Confirmed Dates for 2026

These come from city pages and organizer or ticketing listings. Times can shift, so check the organizer before you leave.

Date	Event	Where	Cost as listed
Fri to Sun, Oct 23 to 25	North York Diwali Festival (hours not listed)	Mel Lastman Square, Toronto	Not listed
Sat, Oct 24 (noon to 10 PM) and Sun, Oct 25 (noon to 9 PM)	Diwali Festival of Lights	Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto	Free
Sat, Oct 24, 1 PM	Diwali at Marine Gateway	Marine Gateway, Vancouver	Free
Sun, Nov 1, 11 AM to 3 PM	Diwali Mela	Hindu Mandir, Calgary	Not listed
Sun, Nov 1, 2 PM	Diwali in Tsawwassen Mills	Tsawwassen Mills, BC	Free
Thu, Nov 5, 6 PM	Diwali in Coquitlam	Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam	Free
Sat, Nov 7, 2 PM	Diwali in Vancouver	Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver	Free
Sun, Nov 8, from 4 PM	City of Brampton Diwali Mela	Sesquicentennial Park, Brampton	Free
Mon, Nov 9, 4 PM	Diwali in New Westminster	Anvil Centre, New Westminster	Free

Two cautions. The Nathan Phillips Square festival is listed by NOW Toronto and ticketing sites, and the City of Toronto's own event paperwork also names a Diwali event there, but check the organizer's Instagram, @diwalifestivaloflights, for the final hours. The Brampton and Vancouver-area entries come from a third-party guide that marks them official, so confirm them on brampton.ca and the Diwali Celebration Society's page.

Diwali Food and Shopping

In the week before November 8, sweet shops in the big South Asian neighbourhoods run long queues, and the better ones sell out of kaju katli and fresh jalebi by midday. Pre-order boxes if you can.

Toronto: Gerrard India Bazaar on Gerrard Street East is the classic stop for gold on Dhanteras, as well as diyas, sweets and spices.
Brampton: Sweet shops and grocery stores, including Patel Brothers, are busy in Diwali week.
Vancouver area: Main Street's Punjabi Market in Vancouver, and shops in Surrey.
Calgary: Northeast Calgary, around the Hindu Mandir, has many South Asian shops and restaurants.

Dhanteras on November 6 is the traditional day to buy gold, silver or a steel utensil. Buy from an established jeweller, ask for an itemized bill and check the purity stamp.

Diwali Fireworks Rules in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton

This is the part most guides get wrong, because Canada has no single rule. Each municipality decides, and neighbouring cities can have opposite rules.

City	Diwali fireworks at home	Key rules
Mississauga	Allowed on Sunday, Nov 8, 6 PM to 10 PM, without a permit (city page)	Private property only, never in parks, streets or sidewalks; Roman candles are banned; the by-law moves the permitted day to the next day if rain makes it unsafe
Toronto	Not a permitted day without a special occasions permit (by-law text, June 2022)	Home use is permitted on Victoria Day and Canada Day; never in parks or public places; no one under 18 may set them off
Brampton	Prohibited, including on Diwali (City of Brampton)	A permit is needed for private property; fines start at $500; the city runs an official show at its mela

Mississauga's page is the most current of the three. The city council approved by-law amendments on December 10, 2025 after a debate about a full ban, and the city page still lists Diwali as a permitted day. The Toronto by-law text we could read was last consolidated in 2022, and the Brampton statement dates from 2024 and 2025, so check the city's fire services page before you buy anything. Some other Ontario cities, including Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, allowed Diwali fireworks in 2023, according to CTV News, and that may have changed.

Whatever the city, a few rules hold nearly everywhere. Do not set off fireworks in a park, on a street or in an apartment parking lot. Keep a bucket of water or a fire extinguisher close, never let children light them, and watch for neighbours' pets. If you are unsure, go to a licensed display like Brampton's. For Vancouver and Calgary, we did not verify the current by-laws, so check the city website.

Travel Guide: Transit, Parking and Weather

Transit: In Toronto, Nathan Phillips Square is a short walk from the Queen and Osgoode subway stations on Line 1, and Mel Lastman Square is beside North York Centre station, also on Line 1. Expect crowded TTC and GO services on festival evenings. For Brampton's mela, the city ran free Brampton Transit shuttles in 2025, every 30 minutes from 3:30 PM from Mount Pleasant GO Station, Sheridan College, Gore Meadows Community Centre and the Save Max Sports Centre. Check brampton.ca/diwali for this year's shuttle plan.

Parking: On-site parking at the Brampton mela is limited, according to the city, so the shuttles are the easier choice. Downtown Toronto garages fill up on festival weekends, so take the subway if you can.

Weather: November in Canada is cold, and evenings are colder. Dress in layers, wear boots, and pack gloves and a hat for outdoor events and for kids. In Calgary and the Prairies, early-November snow is possible.

Heading to India for Diwali?

Ayodhya is where the festival began. We have written about the Ayodhya Deepotsav schedule, how to get a Deepotsav pass, the viewing spots at Ram Ki Paidi and Dev Deepawali in Varanasi. For a longer trip, see our Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj itinerary for NRIs. In the US instead? Read our Diwali in the USA guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Diwali 2026 in Canada?

Sunday, November 8, 2026. The five-day festival runs from Dhanteras on Friday, November 6 to Bhai Dooj on Tuesday, November 10.

Is Diwali a public holiday in Canada?

No. Diwali is not a statutory or public holiday in Canada, and most workplaces and schools stay open. You can ask your employer for religious accommodation under your province's human rights code.

What time is Lakshmi Puja in Toronto on November 8?

Drik Panchang lists 5:17 PM to 7:03 PM for Toronto. Other cities differ, so use a panchang for your own city or your temple's printed time.

Why do some Diwali days differ between Canada and India?

Naraka Chaturdashi, Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj fall one day earlier in Canada because the lunar day begins at a different clock time. Lakshmi Puja is on November 8 in both countries.

Where is the biggest Diwali celebration in Toronto?

The Diwali Festival of Lights at Nathan Phillips Square on October 24 and 25 is the best-known free downtown event, and North York has its own festival at Mel Lastman Square on October 23 to 25.

Are there Diwali events in Brampton and Mississauga?

Brampton's city-run Diwali Mela is listed for November 8 at Sesquicentennial Park. Mississauga has temple and banquet-hall events. Confirm times with the organizer.

Can I set off Diwali fireworks in Mississauga, Toronto or Brampton?

In Mississauga, yes, on November 8 from 6 PM to 10 PM on private property. In Toronto you need a special occasions permit. In Brampton fireworks are prohibited without a permit, even on Diwali.

Are there free Diwali events in Canada?

Yes. The Nathan Phillips Square festival, the Brampton Diwali Mela and the Diwali Celebration Society's events in the Vancouver area are listed as free.

Can non-Hindus visit a Hindu temple during Diwali?

Yes. Temples welcome visitors. Dress modestly, remove your shoes, and expect crowds around the evening puja on November 8 and the Annakut morning on November 9.

How do I wish someone a happy Diwali?

Say “Happy Diwali” or “Shubh Deepavali.” Gujarati families also say “Saal Mubarak” on the New Year, the day after Diwali.

Sources and How We Checked

Checked on October 21, 2026. Confirm times and prices with the organizer.