Weekend need-to-know: Celebrate Canada Day and Pride
Posted June 27, 2024 11:13 am.
Last Updated June 28, 2024 12:51 pm.
The long weekend in Toronto will be ripe with activities with Canada Day and the Pride parade taking place. Keep in mind, there will be some closures due to the statutory holiday on Monday.
Fireworks and Canada festivities
Fireworks will go off at 10 p.m. on July 1, rain or shine at Ashbridges Bay for Toronto’s flagship firework celebration for Canada Day.
The 14-minute display can be seen on the boardwalk from Coxwell to Victoria Park Avenues.
Thompson Memorial Park will have live entertainment, craft vendors and kick-off celebrations with a free pancake breakfast on July 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
East York’s annual Canada Day parade featuring marching bands will begin at Dieppe Park at 10:30 a.m.
The parade will move east along Cosburn and Woodbine Avenues and end at Stan Wadlow Park, with a firework display happening at 10 p.m.
There will be other all-day celebrations at the park from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Canada’s Wonderland fireworks
Two nights of fireworks will be happening this Canada Day Long Weekend (June 30 + July 1) at Canada’s Wonderland.
The big show starts at 10 p.m. with more than 6,000 explosions from 11 separate firing positions reaching heights of 800+ feet, all choreographed to music.
A reminder from the City of Toronto that fireworks are allowed without a permit on Canada Day until 11 p.m. on residents’ private property but is not permitted in City parks and beaches.
Toronto Pride Parade
In the culmination of month-long celebrations in the city, the largest Pride Parade in Canada will be happening on Sunday, June 30 with over 260 groups promoting equality and inclusion.
It will kick off at Church and Bloor Streets and travel to Nathan Phillips Square where music performances and celebrations continue.
The whole weekend will have festivities happening across the city. You can find a full list of events on the Pride Toronto website.
Toronto Ribfest
Celebrate Canada Day with Toronto’s Ribfest at Centennial Park this weekend. Put on by the Rotary Club of Etobicoke, there will be tasty food, live music and an expansive Midway with thrilling rides.
The lineup of bands and performers is available on the website along with more details about when the event will kick off on Friday.
It will culminate in fireworks at Centennial Park at 10 p.m. Monday.
TD Toronto Jazz Fest
The final weekend of the jazz festival features An evening of Indigenous artists on Friday night and closes out with Gospel in the Grove, featuring gospel choirs from York University and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, plus the Toronto Mass Choir, on Sunday. Information and tickets can be found at torontojazz.com
TTC/GO Closures
There will be no TTC/GO closures this weekend.
Road closures
Ongoing Gardiner closures
As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, one westbound lane and one eastbound lane are closed between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. The eastbound on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard at Jameson Avenue is also closed.
Temporary road closures
Pride Toronto Street Fair
From 9 a.m. on Friday, June 28 to 7 a.m. on Monday, July 1, Church Street will be closed between Dundas Street East and Hayden Street for the Pride Toronto Street Fair.
Trans March and Dyke March
From 7 to 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 28, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, the following road closures will be in effect for the Trans March (Friday) and Dyke March (Saturday):
- Bloor Street East between Church and Yonge Streets.
- Yonge Street between Bloor Street East and Gould Street.
- Gould Street between Yonge and Church Streets.
- Church Street between Gould Street and Bloor Street East.
Pride and Remembrance Run
From 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, Wellesley Street will be closed between Jarvis Street and Queens Park Crescent, and Queens Park Crescent will be closed between College Street and Bloor Street West, for the Pride and Remembrance Run.
Pride Parade formation area
On Sunday, June 30, the following road closures will be in effect for the Pride Parade formation area:
- From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Rosedale Valley Road will be closed between Bayview Avenue and Park Road.
- From noon to 6 p.m.:
- Church Street will be closed between Hayden Street and Bloor Street East.
- Park Road will be closed between Rosedale Valley Road and Bloor Street East.
Pride Parade
From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, the following road closures will be in effect for the Pride Parade:
- Bloor Street East between Yonge Street and Ted Rogers Way.
- Yonge Street between Bloor and Queen Streets.
- Dundas Street West between Yonge Street and University Avenue.
- Bay Street between Dundas and Queen Streets.
Ashbridges Bay Canada Day fireworks
From 9 to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 1, Lake Shore Boulevard East will be closed between Leslie Street and Queen Street East, and Emdaabiimok Avenue (formerly Lower Coxwell Avenue) will be closed between Lake Shore Boulevard East and Eastern Avenue.
East York Canada Day Parade
From 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, July 1, Cosburn Avenue will be closed between Greenwood and Woodbine Avenues, and Woodbine Avenue will be closed between Cosburn and Trenton Avenues.
Somali Festival
From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., on Monday, July 1, westbound lanes on Dixon Road will be closed between Chetta Place and the west side of Dixon Park will be closed.
Bloor Street West
Until Tuesday, July 2, the westbound lanes and westbound cycle track on Bloor Street West will be closed between Avenue Road and Madison Avenue for emergency watermain work and road reconstruction.
From Tuesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 7, the westbound lanes and westbound cycle track will be closed between Avenue Road and Spadina Avenue. Eastbound lanes and the eastbound cycle track will remain open throughout this work. This project is scheduled for completion in mid-August.
Other ongoing city closures
- Spadina streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina station and Queens Quay and there will be no 509 service between Spadina Avenue and Union Station along Queens Quay until the end of the year.
- O’Connor Drive is down to a single lane each way between Bermondsey and Sandra for road reconstruction and sewer and watermain installation until the summer of 2024.
- Until mid-June, between 6:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to two westbound lanes between New Brunswick Way and British Columbia Road for the replacement of a fence.
- The Yonge and Bloor intersection will be reduced to a single lane all ways for condo construction and sewer installation until 2025.
- University Avenue will be reduced to a single lane in both directions between College Street and Queen Street West to complete several infrastructure projects for the next several months.
- Queen Street is fully closed to traffic between Bay and Victoria Streets to accommodate work on a new station for the Ontario Line subway. The closure is scheduled to last for at least four-and-a-half years until 2027.
- Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project is scheduled to continue into 2024.
- Two northbound lanes of Yonge Street from King Street to Wellington Street are closed for TTC construction until Sept. 30, 2024.
- Finch Avenue West is reduced to a single lane in both directions from Dufferin to Wilmington for sewer installation until October 2024.
- Eglinton Avenue West is down to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road for tunneling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.
- Lane restrictions on Bayview Avenue between Roehampton Avenue and Armistice Drive while the city completes road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk replacement, and traffic signal and pedestrian upgrades. One northbound lane is currently closed on Bayview Avenue between Kilgour Road and Roehampton Avenue.
- Cherry Street remains closed south of Polson Pier due to maintenance on the Ship Channel Lift Bridge (Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge). Road users are able to access the Port of Toronto and Cherry Beach via Unwin Avenue.
- Until Friday, July 9, westbound lanes on King Street West will be closed between Dufferin and Shaw Streets, and eastbound lanes will be closed between Jefferson Avenue and Sudbury Street, for ongoing work to replace aging TTC streetcar tracks and a 146-year-old watermain. Phased road closures will continue between Dufferin and Shaw Streets until September for this project, followed by intermittent lane closures as needed until November to complete overhead work and road restoration.
