Protesters call for Toronto’s annual Air Show to be cancelled

While the Canadian Forces Snowbirds prepare to take off for the annual Air Show during the final weekend of the Canadian National Exhibition, protesters are gathering for a demonstration against the popular event.

Protesters say the planes that provide the entertainment are also used for acts of war to “slaughter thousands” and can re-traumatize victims and veterans.

“The protest will condemn the air show’s efforts to sanitize the devastating impacts of war planes such as CF-18s and Lockheed Martin’s F22 Raptors whose sole purpose is warfare and annihilation,” organizers for the group World Beyond War said in a statement.

Demonstrators are expected to meet for a rally and march at Coronation Park, near the main CNE entrance, just south of Strachan Avenue.

Protesters are calling for the yearly air show to be cancelled.

“From Israel’s incessant airstrikes on Gaza, to the ongoing attacks on Ukraine, in the past year we have seen hospitals shelled, homes reduced to rubble, and the bodies of thousands of children killed in bombings,” organizers said. “We have been witnessing exactly what the warplanes being celebrated at the Toronto Air Show are designed to do.”

“Despite this, the Canadian military blatantly uses the air show as an opportunity to sanitize war and recruit for the Royal Canadian Air Force,” they added.

The annual event has prompted vocal concern from residents who say the sound of jets roaring through the skies each Labour Day weekend causes undue stress for those living with post-traumatic stress disorder and needless disruptions for people and pets alike.

People have taken to social media to describe the noise as deafening and terrifying with some saying it routinely causes nightmares for themselves or their family members while others say they consider leaving town for the weekend to escape the sounds.

A number of people have asked Toronto officials to limit the show to just one day rather than the entire weekend.

While City of Toronto officials have invited residents in the past to provide feedback, officials with the Canadian International Air Show have said the event complies with all regulations provided by Transport Canada, Nav Canada and other governmental organizations relating to noise.

The Canadian International Air Show takes place this weekend from Saturday to Monday, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The air show is Canada’s largest and longest-running airshow. The 2024 Air Show features the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the CF-18 Demonstration Team, and the RAF Red Arrows.

In addition to these jet teams, the show will include the United States Air Force F-22 demonstration team, the Douglas C-47 Dakota on August 31 and the iconic Avro Lancaster and B-25 on September 1 and 2.

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report