Weekend need-to-know: Celebrate Canada Day and Pride

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

Ashbridges Bay

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

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 Canada Day parade

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.

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.

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. 

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.