Latest news with #TorontoPrideParade
Toronto Sun
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Pride Toronto must return to its political roots, advocates say as sponsors leave
Published Jul 11, 2025 • 4 minute read Myles Sexton, second from left, and guests participate in the 2025 Toronto Pride Parade on June 29, 2025 in Toronto. Photo by Harold Feng / Getty Images As a major funding shortfall looms over Pride Toronto, some prominent LGBTQ+ advocates say it's high time to rethink the organization's corporate partnerships and return to its political grassroots. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ahead of last month's Pride parade, organizers sounded the alarm over Pride Toronto's $900,000 shortfall after sponsors such as Google, Nissan, Home Depot and Clorox pulled their support. Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste attributed the corporate withdrawals to backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States, though some of the companies said their decisions were made solely because of budgetary considerations. Although this year's festivities went ahead as planned, Modeste warned that next year's Pride festival may have to be scaled back. Fatima Amarshi, a former executive director of Pride Toronto, says this is the right moment for a reset. Amarshi led the organization for three years starting in 2005, right after Canada legalized same-sex marriage, and helped lay the foundation of its current funding model. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At that time, she said Pride Toronto vetted corporate sponsors only to ensure their internal policies were supportive of LGBTQ+ employees and the broader community. 'We weren't looking at how corporate sponsors were funding arms manufacturers or fossil fuels or efforts to suppress Indigenous land claims. We were linking queer rights to human rights at the level of state repression and legislative oppression, but not via those who fund those efforts,' she said. During her tenure, Pride Toronto's budget grew from a little under $1 million to around $3 million, Amarshi said. But as that budget expanded over the years thanks to major corporate sponsors, some criticized the increasing commercialization of the annual Pride festival at the expense of its original purpose. More recently, Pride Toronto has faced calls to cut ties with corporations that allegedly profit from Israel's offensive in Gaza. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Gary Kinsman, one of the founding members of the Lesbian and Gay Day Pride Parade — the organization that eventually became Pride Toronto — resigned in 2024 over that issue and what he called the organization's refusal to hear the demands of the group Queers in Palestine. Founded in 1981, the Lesbian and Gay Day Pride Parade was a grassroots picnic and political march formed in response to increasing right-wing opposition to the LGBTQ+ community and a series of violent raids by Toronto police at bathhouses in the city. The first event involved a march down a much shorter strip of Yonge Street in front of the police detachment that organized the raids. Kinsman said the grassroots spirit of the festival continued throughout the 1980s, but a turning point came in the '90s when organizers started looking to involve corporate sponsors, which prompted early signs of division that came decades later. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This begins to change its (Pride) character fundamentally. It moves quite sharply from being a community-based organization to becoming an organization not defined by communities but by alliances with corporate forms of organization,' Kinsman said in an interview. Pride Toronto did not respond to requests for comment for this story. For Beverly Bain, who along with Kinsman co-founded a group called No Pride in Policing, the growing calls to break Pride Toronto's ties with corporate sponsors is long overdue. 'Pride Toronto, as it exists today, is a corporate pinkwashing Pride. I do not think it's an organization that should be continuing to exist,' Bain said. Pride Toronto hasn't adequately highlighted issues that disproportionately affect the LGBTQ+ community, such as poor access to housing, mental health struggles and increased substance use, Bain said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We go back to the political roots of Pride … a political struggle for the liberation of queer and trans and non-binary and those who are racialized and those who are Indigenous and two-spirited and Indigenous and queer.' Monica Forrester, executive director of Trans Pride Toronto, said she started attending the Pride festival in 1998, when it was still very much a protest organized by local shops, bars and community centres. 'We were still in a time of the bath house raids … and the transphobia and violence that a lot of queer people were facing, not only by people, but by systemic violence. It was really a time where we stood up to show our visibility, that we were here, we were queer and we weren't going anywhere,' Forrester said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But that changed over time, with corporate sponsors appearing to be at the forefront of Pride events, Forrester said. The fact that some of them have pulled support for the festival is 'a testament that they were never really our allies,' she added. Faisal Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the Coalition Against Pinkwashing, said it would be a 'bare minimum' for Pride Toronto to cut ties with sponsors who financially benefit from Israel's war efforts in Gaza, and agrees with Forrester that a heavy corporate presence can detract from the overall message of Pride. Looking back, Amarshi said it was 'incredibly short-sighted' to bring corporate sponsors into what she said has been a vital institution in advocating for queer rights. 'If Pride doesn't find a way to manoeuvre and be accountable to the community and continue to be in a position where the community feels it legitimately represents them, the community will find its own voice and will find its own path forward.' Amarshi said. 'It's never needed scale. It's needed to be loud and it's needed to be brave. That's what started Pride and that certainly hasn't gone away.' NHL Relationships Editorial Cartoons Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA
Hamilton Spectator
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Federal NDP plans to have a new leader by end of March
OTTAWA—The New Democratic Party will have a new leader by the end of March next year, the Star has learned, setting up a contest to decide the future of the left-wing political force that was crippled in April's federal election. In a closed-door meeting Thursday, the NDP's federal council agreed on a six-month race starting in September with a $100,000 entry fee, said sources familiar with the discussions. It's seen as a compromise between opposing factions of the party following tense debates and internal discord in the weeks ahead of the decision. Not all rules for the race were decided Thursday. Some had called for a lengthy race with a low-entry fee in an effort to allow more candidates to enter the race and vigorously debate the direction of the party. Others had called for a short race with a higher fee , citing the instability of minority Parliaments and a need to replenish the party's coffers after it had its worst-ever election result. Tensions are expected to remain as the left wing of the party and the center-left battle over the direction of the NDP during the leadership race. Earlier this week, a grassroots group dubbed 'Reclaim Canada's NDP,' supported by former MPs Matthew Green and Rachel Blaney, called on party donors to redirect funds to local riding associations instead of the central party, a significant act of protest in the face of mounting disillusionment with the party's leadership . The party was reduced to just seven seats in Parliament in the April 28 election, losing out on critical rebates from Elections Canada and funding for House of Commons staff and operations and leading to former leader Jagmeet Singh's resignation. It announced this week it was launching a review of the election campaign, led by lawyer and former candidate Emilie Taman. Edmonton-Strathcona MP Heather McPherson, who is notable for her criticism of the Canadian government's response to the war in Gaza and her past support for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, is widely expected to launch a leadership bid, but has yet to confirm her intention despite signalling an openness to enter the race. Over the last few weeks, she marched with Ontario New Democrats at the Toronto Pride Parade, mingled with labour unions at the Calgary Stampede, and shared a video to social media describing the party's recent election campaign as a 'wake-up call,' that failed to provide leadership and solutions and lost voters' trust. Other potential candidates, include several influential figures on the left-wing of the party, including Green, climate activist Avi Lewis and Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan. So far, the only people to announce an intention to run are farmer and former Huron-Bruce candidate Tony McQuail and Yves Engler — a Montreal-based activist known for aggressive confrontations with elected officials of all stripes over the war in Gaza.
Toronto Sun
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Rainbows to deck Toronto's streets for Pride parade amid fears of future cash crunch
Published Jun 29, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 1 minute read A person participates in the 43rd annual Toronto Pride Parade on June 30, 2024. Photo by Harold Feng / Getty Images The streets of Toronto will be filled with rainbows this afternoon when the annual Pride parade takes place, but there's a cloud hanging over future festivities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Today's event will see more than 25,000 marchers from some 250 groups wind through the downtown core in Canada's biggest show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. In the lead up to the parade, Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste warned next year's Pride will likely be scaled down if organizers can't drum up more financial support. Earlier this year, Modeste revealed organizers were facing a $900,000 funding gap. Recommended video The loss of cash was blamed on rising costs and the departure of sponsors Google, Nissan, Home Depot and Clorox. Modeste says the pullback came as backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts materialized in the U.S. and beyond under President Donald Trump.
Toronto Sun
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
PRIDE IN PERIL: Toronto Police Gaza protest OT bill leaves events 'vulnerable'
Toronto Police Association President warns potential staffing shortfalls could have 'a serious impact on public safety' Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox A person participates in the 43rd annual Toronto Pride Parade on June 30, 2024. Photo by Harold Feng / Getty Images A dramatic change in police staffing could leave the city's annual Pride parade and related events in peril this weekend, the Toronto Sun has learned. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Toronto Police Association sent a letter – obtained by The Sun – to Pride's executive director Kojo Modeste in May, warning of potential staffing shortfalls that could leave events vulnerable. TPA President Clayton Campbell told The Sun that the organization and its members 'are not happy.' 'I don't like having a public fight with (Police Chief) Myron Demkiw, but this could have a serious impact on public safety,' Campbell said. Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, revealing details of Project Yankee that targeted ongoing tow truck turf wars in Toronto as part of a joint forces investigation that started in October 2024. Photo by JACK BOLAND / TORONTO SUN The annual Dyke March is Saturday and the famous Pride Parade is Sunday. Over the past number of years, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has sent specialized units such as the Emergency Task Force to big events. Other officers would be offered the opportunity to work events such as Pride, Canada Day and Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana) for overtime. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. People participate in the 43rd annual Toronto Pride Parade on June 30, 2024. Photo by Harold Feng / Getty Images But this year, Chief Demkiw has deemed that 40% of the officers will work the holiday weekend for straight time. Campbell claims that's a breach of the collective agreement, so the TPA is grieving the move. More concerning is that 60% of the Pride staffing will be comprised of TPA members from specialized units like drugs, guns and gangs, and on-duty frontline officers from surrounding divisions. TORONTO, ONTARIO – JUNE 30: A person participates in the 43rd annual Toronto Pride Parade on June 30, 2024, in Toronto, Ontario. Photo by Harold Feng / Getty Images That leaves active investigations hanging and the rest of the city vulnerable. 'Pride deserves proper policing, but so do the rest of the citizens. The work of drugs and guns and gangs doesn't stop because it's Pride,' Campbell said. 'It's all about saving money.' Since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel and the resulting backlash, the TPS's budget has been battered by the near-daily anti-Israel protests in the city. As of April, cops had spent more than $12 million policing the protests. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Hate crimes are up against the LGBTQ+,' said Campbell, who speculates Pride may be 'interrupted by Palestinian protesters.' THEM AGAIN: Protesters carry Palestinian flags and shout slogans during a demonstration march on April 21, 2024, in Toronto. Protesters demanded a ceasefire in the current conflict in the Gaza Strip. Photo by Maryam Majd / Getty Images In Vancouver, Police Chief Steven Rai has said whatever the cost, events like Pride and other festivals would be fully protected in the future. At the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in April, a maniac slammed a vehicle into the crowd, killing 11 people and injuring 32 others. Campbell said Demkiw's decisions will almost certainly lead to fewer cops on the ground. He added that some high-ranking police commanders encouraged the Chief to change his mind, but to no avail. 'I really hope that everything goes fine, but it's not a risk I'd be willing to take,' he said. Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell. Photo by Supplied / TPA And with the cross-pollination of Canada Day and Pride, cops could be in for a busy weekend. Last year, the policing costs for Pride were $2 million. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'But that's nothing on a $1.3 billion budget. This puts our members and the community at risk, and it's not the place to cut. Our members are furious,' Campbell said, adding many members had made plans and will now be forced to come in on short notice. Campbell said that in the past, almost all the necessary personnel were volunteers. As a result of the chief's decision, he added that TPA board members would be in attendance. 'If we see calls for service going unanswered elsewhere because of officers being redeployed to Pride, it could be bad,' he said. 'I really hope it goes fine. We have TPA members and their families who will be there. We only want management to keep the funding for events like Pride and Canada Day,' Campbell said. 'But using on-duty resources … I hope to God nothing happens because Myron is going to have to answer for it.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I don't know why he's taking the risk,' he added. Read More In a statement to The Sun , the TPS maintained they have 'ample staffing in place for Pride.' 'The staffing model the TPA is referring to uses a combination of on-duty officers and members working under an RDO (Regular Day Off) exchange, rather than relying on premium pay (overtime) call-backs,' the statement read. 'This staffing model will apply to four large-scale annual events in Toronto – Pride, Canada Day, Caribbean Carnival and New Year's Eve.' The TPS statement reiterated that police presence at Pride will not be reduced and 'reflects a responsible and efficient use of staffing resources.' The police service said public safety remains its 'top priority.' The statement added: 'We're working closely with Pride Toronto and are looking forward to a great weekend.' bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Canada Toronto Maple Leafs Music Toronto Raptors Toronto Raptors
Toronto Sun
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Pride Parade headlines host of fun events marching into GTA this weekend
People take part in the Toronto Pride Parade on June 25, 2023. Photo by Harold Feng / Files / Getty Images It's a long weekend for many, which is celebration enough. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account And while that punishing heat wave is behind us, things will still be hot, hot, hot in the city. While Toronto Jazz Fest winds down, there are plenty of other festivals and other fun things going on in and around Toronto. Here's what you need to know to make the necessary plans. Pride Toronto Pride month ends with a bang thanks to the festival — which includes the Trans Pride March, the Dyke Rally & March, the StreetFair and culminates with the grand Pride Parade. There's something for everyone, including programming for youth and families to showcase their talents and build community, local and international artists and DJs bringing life to stages throughout the Church-Wellesley Gay Village and other downtown venues. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The StreetFair is on Friday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., Trans Pride on Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Dyke Rally & March on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and the Pride Parade on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. For the lineup, schedule, venues, march, parade routes and more information, click here. Note: Road closures will begin anywhere between Friday at 9 a.m. and conclude on Monday at 6 a.m. For more information on those, click here. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There's enticing music, queery performances and delicious food and drinks at this love-filled festival that features world-class DJs, legendary music producers, extraordinary performers, drag royalty and more. Head to Barbara Hall Park on Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to midnight. For the lineup and more information, click here. Live Loudly, Love Proudly Bold, vibrant, Pride-themed art installations have been featured all month long and wraps with a festival packed with a lineup of activities including live music and DJs, fabulous food and more. It's all at Manulife Centre on Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., while the art remains up until July 1. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For more information, click here. Toronto Waterfront Festival The Tall Ships make their way back to the waterfront where the fleet will be docked to celebrate the start of summer. The festival will expand from Sugar Beach over to Sherbourne Common and feature nautical entertainment, food vendors, interactive activities, partner giveaways and so much more. Head to Sugar Beach on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Deck tours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. For tickets for the deck tours and more information, click here. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Expect an exciting fusion of music, dance, art, culinary experiences and interactive workshops that showcases local and international talent. Celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diversity of Asia and Latin America that makes Toronto vibrant and welcoming. Head to Harbourfront Centre on Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, click here. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Taste of Asia 2025 Explore incredible food, watch vibrant performances and connect and experience the creativity of local entrepreneurs in this must-attend event that celebrates local pride, diversity and collaboration. Take part in this celebration of harmony, cuisine and culture on Kennedy Rd. in Markham on Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For more information, click here. Note: Road closures on Kennedy Rd. between Steeles Ave. and Denison St. begin Friday at 10 a.m. and end on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. Union Summer Toronto's ultimate patio party is back and will feature must-try dishes from local favourites and a sick summer soundtrack with more than 100 acts set to perform all season long. Get into those summer vibes at Union Station's Front St. plaza until Aug. 10 on Sundays to Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, click here. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bouncy castles are no longer just for kids as the biggest touring inflatable event is headed to the Hamilton area. It features seven massive attractions including the world's largest bounce house, an obstacle course that measures more than 900 feet, a customized sports arena, a three-piece, space-themed wonderland and an intergalactic adventure. Jump around and head to Hanes Corn Maze at 1001 Hwy. 5 W. in Dundas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For tickets, times and more information, click here. Titanic: The Official Exhibition The globally acclaimed immersive experience that brings to life the story of the ill-fated RMS Titanic is making its Canadian debut in Toronto. Explore the history, legacy and secrets of the Titanic through multimedia displays, authentic artifacts and virtual reality. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Dive in and paddle over to YZD Hangar Bay 12 at 30 Hanover Rd. starting Friday and running until Sept. 28. For tickets and more information, click here. Read More Toronto Ribfest Get ready for a mouth-watering, finger-licking, belly-rubbing good time, thanks to amazing barbecue from some of the best ribbers around. There's also live music, vendors and other attractions, as well as fireworks on Canada Day. Head to Centennial Park in Etobicoke from Saturday to Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Donations to support local charities through the Rotary Club of Etobicoke will be accepted at the gate. For more information, click here. Canada Day Long Weekend at The Distillery District Visitors can enjoy live music and celebrate with the ultimate Canadian soundtrack — including one of Canada's best The Tragically Hip tribute bands), as well as family-friendly activities, outdoor food and drinks and patriotic moments. Head to one of Toronto's most iconic historic neighbourhoods from Saturday to Tuesday. The live entertainment from the Trinity Street Stage is Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, click here. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Toronto Raptors Canada Celebrity Canada Canada
