Ministerial Statement: Provincial Government Recognizes Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People

Press Release

May 5, 2026

The following statement was read in the House of Assembly today by the Honourable Lela Evans, Minister of Women and Gender Equality:

Speaker, I rise to recognize today as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, also known as Red Dress Day.

The red dress has become a powerful symbol of those who have been lost forever from their communities, often without justice or closure for their loved ones. Each empty space in a family or community leaves a void that can never be filled. I only have to look to my own district, where each loss is carried through generations of grief. People and communities have been forever changed.

Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people throughout our province face higher rates of violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts. So, on this day, we stand in solidarity with families, survivors and communities and support them in seeking justice and healing.

As Minister of Women and Gender Equality, I hear the voices of survivors and families, and am committed to supporting their calls for truth, justice and lasting change.

Their stories matter. Their lives matter. We will not forget.

Change is coming.

Thank you, Speaker.

ILR5