The “Illuminate Canada Yellow” MCS/EHS awareness campaign

 

 

Twenty landmarks across Canada were lit up in yellow for MCS and EHS awareness in May 2025

 

Keywords:    multiple chemical sensitivity, MCS, environmental sensitivities, Canada, awareness, activism

 

 

The picture above shows the Montreal Tower lit up in yellow. Picture by Genevieve and Pascal.

 

May is global MCS Awareness Month every year. In 2025, twenty landmarks in eleven Canadian provinces were lit up in yellow to spread awareness of the disease and advocate for policies that improve the living conditions of the stricken people.

 

The yellow color was chosen from the canary bird that is often used as a symbol. In olden days, miners took canaries with them down into underground mines, as the birds would become silent and pass out as a warning of dangerous fumes. Likewise, people with MCS and EHS are a warning of today’s unhealthy environment.

 

The British Columbia legislative assembly building.
Picture by Ang Brown.

 

Some of the buildings could only display one primary color, so for consistency it was not possible to also display green, which is also used for MCS awareness.

 

In Canada, MCS is also known as Environmental Sensitivities (ES), which includes electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).

 

The illuminated landmarks included the Legislative Assembly (parliament) buildings in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Northwest Territories. Several city halls, three bridges, Montreal Tower, a hotel and two large iconic signs were illuminated in yellow across Canada.

 

Most were illuminated on the evening of May First, while a few were illuminated a few days later.

 

Many of the sites had web pages where curious onlookers could see why they were lit up in yellow. A few local media also brought notices. A radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, brought an interview with Marie LeBlanc.

 

The top of Hotel le Concorde in Quebec City is lit up,
while Dominique Brillon wears a yellow jacket
and holds two yellow canary puppets.

 

Through social media, people with the illness were encouraged to post photos of the illuminated landmarks (some of which are shown here). They were also encouraged to include themselves in a photo.

 

Organizing the event

The project was coordinated by Marie LeBlanc from the Environmental Health Association of Manitoba.

 

It took a lot of effort to set this up. There is no list of Canadian buildings that can and will do this for various causes, so they were found by searching the internet for announcements made by other groups of activists, or the building managers themselves.

 

The activists had observed some landmarks doing this, such as a bridge in Alberta, and since they knew of some Legislature buildings doing it, they tried contacting the others.

 

More than two hundred media outlets across Canada were contacted, but there was almost no interest.

 

The city hall of Lethbridge in Alberta is lit up in yellow,
with organizer Marie LeBlanc. Photo: Cris Robinson

 

 

More information

Additional articles about environmental illness activists on www.eiwellspring.org/activist.html.

 

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