Night Lighting
Lighting Schedule
Date | Colour | Occasion* |
Ongoing | Red and white | Top of the hour CN Tower light show |
| Spring | Decreased lighting | Bird Migration
Lighting is decreased during spring bird migration. |
| May 6 | Orange | Canadian Dermatology Association’s Light it Orange for skin cancer awareness day |
| May 6 | Blue | Go Leafs Go! Our regularly scheduled top of the hour light show will be replaced with blue lighting in celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs |
| May 8 | Blue | Go Leafs Go! CN Tower lighting celebrates the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL playoffs |
| May 10 | Red and White | World Lupus Day |
| May 10 | Blue | Go Leafs Go! Our regularly scheduled top of the hour light show will be replaced with blue lighting in celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs |
| May 11 | Green and Navy Blue | Lyme Disease Awareness Month |
| May 12 | Red and pink | Mother’s Day |
| May 12 | Blue | Go Leafs Go! Our regularly scheduled top of the hour light show will be replaced with blue lighting in celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs |
| May 13 | Blue | Go Leafs Go! CN Tower lighting celebrates the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL playoffs |
| May 15 | Blue | Tuberous Sclerosis Complex World Awareness Day |
| May 20 | Purple and Gold | Victoria Day - Honouring the Birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II |
| May 24 | Purple | National Schizophrenia and Psychosis Awareness Day |
| May 25 | Blue and turquoise | Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month |
| May 29 | Red and white | World MS Day |
| June 1 | Purple, white and black | ALS Awareness Month |
| June 7 | Red | Gutsy Walk for Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Canada |
| June 15 | Blue and White | Toronto Walk in support of National Scleroderma Awareness Month |
| June 16 | Dark Blue/Light Blue | Father’s Day |
| June 20 | Blue | United Nations World Refugee Day www.unhcr.ca |
| June 21 | Yellow, dark blue, dark red, white | National Aboriginal Day |
| June 26 | Red and white | CN Tower’s Birthday - Today the CN Tower turns 37 |
| June 27 | Blue and red | Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Awareness Month |
| June 30 | Rainbow | Pride Toronto Parade |
| * On the day a Canadian soldier is repatriated, structural lighting will be dimmed and the CN Tower will remain dark in the skyline for five minutes at the top of every hour, throughout that night in honour of this soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice. (Mandatory aircraft warning lights will not be affected.) |
The CN Tower is an awe-inspiring architectural and engineering wonder of the world that is a symbol of pride for Toronto residents, Ontario residents and all Canadians. The Tower’s new lighting system is designed to architecturally enhance the CN Tower structure from bottom to top, providing elegant night time illumination honouring the legacy of this national icon and landmark.
The CN Tower installed an intelligent LED illumination system that is energy efficient, cost efficient and provides a number of added unique benefits:
 | Millions of colours and infinite effects Microprocessor controlled, each fixture can produce 16.7 million colours. Intelligent digital control makes the system programmable from a single computer console. Each fixture has a unique “address” that can be programmed individually to create an infinite variety of lighting effects
Directional lighting Unlike conventional light sources, one of the unique benefits of LEDs is that they are directional; light output can be controlled and precisely directed. Therefore the resulting lighting will illuminate the Tower while ensuring light output does not “spill” or interfere with nearby hotels, office towers or residences.
Low maintenance The LED technology installed at the CN Tower is designed to achieve excellent performance standards and with its intended use is expected to last in excess of 10 years, requiring minimal fixture replacement and maintenance. Unlike conventional lighting systems, the new system will not require frequent replacement and disposal of light bulbs. LEDs radiate little to no heat, they do not emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation or (IR) infrared which makes them ideal for illuminating areas at the Tower without degration such as the radome and other sensitive areas. |
CN Tower LIGHTING SCHEDULE AND POLICY Each night beginning at sunset the CN Tower will feature a standard lighting program in red and white, to honour Canada, with a short light show at the top of each hour.
An annual lighting schedule will honour national holidays, seasons, certain major City and national events, in one of 2 ways:
Effect at the top of each hour to commemorate the occasion being honoured; or dedicated colour theme for the entire building.
Special Lighting Requests
The CN Tower presents a special opportunity for dedicated nondenominational charitable events and recognized causes to gain widespread publicity through special themed lighting of Canada’s National Tower.
Special lighting requests for dedicated nondenominational charitable events and recognized causes only will be considered at this time. All requests will be evaluated and some of the considerations include:
■ the nature of the cause
■ history and background of the organization, cause or event
■ how the lighting will be used to benefit the cause/event
■ how the CN Tower’s iconic image will be related to the event
All requests must be received in writing by the CN Tower at least 30 days in advance of light date requested. Applicants will receive a written response stating whether it has been approved or not within one week of application receipt.
Special themed lighting is at the sole discretion of CN Tower management and not subject to appeals or negotiation.
Please note that lighting for commercial (e.g. product launches, corporate events) or personal occasions (eg. birthdays, anniversaries) is not permitted.
Due to the volume of requests, all requests cannot be accommodated.
Please complete the following FORM and fax to the CN Tower at 416-601-4753 or email to lightingrequest@cntower.ca