On World Sight Day, October 9, we’re challenging everyone in Canada to prioritize vision in the name of education, employment and the economy
This World Sight Day, our colours are lighting up skylines in communities across Canada, from Calgary to Guelph to Toronto. We’ll be sharing photos on our website and social media, so everyone can see them.
If you live in Calgary, where we have been based for more than six decades, look up, way up, at the Calgary Tower after dark on October 9. To help raise awareness of the importance of eye health, the Calgary Tower will shine in Operation Eyesight’s blue and orange.
If you live in Toronto, you can see the CN Tower shining in blue and orange (and yellow, for another eye-related organization that is also marketing World Sight Day). Wherever you live in Canada, urban, rural or remote, you can view the CN Tower lighting through the Tower’s webcam here. Catch the light show at the top of every hour and at every half hour.
Why we’re raising awareness of eye health in Canada on World Sight Day
As of 2019, in Canada, 1.2 million people experience vision loss, which is 3.2 per cent of the population, and another estimated eight million people – 19 per cent – have eye conditions that could lead to blindness.
Fortunately, 75 per cent of vision loss in Canada is avoidable
Avoidable vision loss can be prevented or treated when detected and addressed early. This is best done through regular eye exams; however, just 51 per cent of people in Canada are aware of how often to get an exam. Vision loss impacts people of all ages and touches all aspects of life including:
- education (students with uncorrected refractive error learn 50 per cent less than peers);
- employment (vision loss can lead to a 30 per cent reduction in employment); and
- Canada’s economy – in 2019 alone the estimated cost of vision loss was nearly 33 billion dollars according to The Cost of Vision Loss and Blindness in Canada report.
World Sight Day is in focus in Canada this year with the passing of the National Strategy for Eye Care Act in November 2024.
Kris Kelm, our Global Director – International Programs and Chair of the Canadian Eye Health Coalition, says, “Canada has made eye health a national priority with the passage of the National Strategy for Eye Care Act. We’re hard at work with like-minded organizations and communities, including Indigenous communities, to help shape the framework for an eye health care system that will serve all Canadians, from Inuvik to Iqaluit, and from Victoria to St. John’s – and every urban, rural and remote community in between. We are proud to bring more than 60 years of experience – earned building eye health care systems with partners in Africa and South Asia – to the table, and we feel that there is a lot for our Canadian policy to learn from international experience.”
Our President & CEO Kashinath Bhoosnurmath says, “Together, we can build an eye health care system in Canada that improves quality of life for us all, personally and for our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. Together, we can eliminate avoidable vision loss in Canada to expand our collective opportunities – and be a shining inspiration for others.”
Eyesight on the international stage
On September 23, 2025, the UN Friends of Vision, collaborating with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) which facilitates World Sight Day worldwide, presented the very first The Value of Vision: The Investment Case for Eye Health to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The case will help inform international frameworks and lay a path for countries to build eye health care systems.
World Sight Day 2025: A list of Operation Eyesight activities in Canada
Our global teams are taking part in hundreds of World Sight Day activities around the world in 10 countries across Africa and South Asia. In addition, in Canada we are:
- Co-hosting a webinar for decision makers called The Future in Focus: Eye Health in Canada and Beyond. The webinar, a collaboration between Operation Eyesight, Seva Canada and Orbis Canada, will focus on the rising demand for eye health care nationally and globally on Thursday, October 9.
- Helping kids love their eyes: We’re encouraging parents, guardians and teachers to download resources for educating children (and themselves) about eye health: operationeyesight.com/free-resources-for-parents
We will be sharing our activities on social media and our website. Learn more or donate in honour of World Sight Day at operationeyesight.com/worldsightday.
Happy World Sight Day! And thank you to our staff, donors and partners around the world for your steadfast dedication to our mission to prevent blindness and restore sight – For All The World To See!
