Doug Ford Cancelled Canada Day Celebrations At Queen’s Park & Torontonians Are Outraged

It has been a dodgy few days for Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford. After announcing a major cabinet reshuffling on Thursday, then hiring and un-hiring several employees within 24 hours after accusations of nepotism, he has now angered Ontarians even more. Doug Ford has cancelled Canada Day celebrations at Queen’s Park in Toronto and people are not happy. 

The Queen’s Park Canada Day celebration has been a tradition for over five decades, with the first event taking place back in 1967. However, it looks like the tradition ends here, as reports from Global News suggest that Doug Ford's government has cancelled the park’s front lawn celebrations, in favour of moving Ontarians to other attractions across the province.

According to Global News, it was confirmed by numerous sources that the Ford government decided months ago to cancel the event at Queens Park.

In response to their inquiry, Premier Ford’s Executive Director of Communications, Laryssa Waler, said, “For the first time ever, our government is helping hard-working families celebrate Canada Day by offering free admission to the first 500 visitors at 10 different Ontario agencies and attractions. Instead of hosting a single event at Queen’s Park, we are providing free admission for thousands of people to Canada Day events across the province.”

The Queen’s Park party, which is traditionally free, usually hosts inflatable rides, dance performances, activities for children and live entertainment.

There are also many nationalistic features of the celebration, such as the singing of the Canadian national anthem and citizenship ceremonies. In past years, it has also been common for the premier of the province to attend.

The Ford government maintains that the new festivities will be much more cost effective, as the Queen’s Park celebration has cost between $300,000 and $400,000 in the past. While the new approach will cost a fraction of that at approximately $80,000, many Canadians in the province are still unhappy with the changes and have taken to Twitter to protest. 

The new July 1 official celebrations will offer free admission for the first 500 visitors at the following 10 locations in Ontario:

• Fort William Historical Park (Thunder Bay)

• Huronia Historical Parks (Midland and Penetanguishene)

• McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Vaughan)

• Butterfly Conservatory – Niagara Parks Commission (Niagara)

• Ontario Science Centre (Toronto)

• Cinesphere – Ontario Place (Toronto)

• Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington)

• Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto)

• Science North (Sudbury)

• St. Lawrence Parks Commission (St. Lawrence Region)

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.