The City of Toronto has cancelled events through June 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic, including the annual Pride Parade.
Toronto Mayor John Tory made the announcement during an update on the city’s response to COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Toronto is cancelling all city-led major events, festivals, conferences, and cultural programs and is also cancelling all city permits for major events organized by external groups,” Tory said.
“This is not an easy decision to make, but it is necessary to protect the public and to save lives … While we treasure many of these events and the important contribution they make to life in our city, protecting the health and safety of Toronto residents has to be our primary concern right now.”
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Tory said Pride month in June will still be celebrated, but the annual Pride Parade has been cancelled.
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“Many of these events of course involve thousands of people, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people, and it is doubtful that the health environment will be where it needs to be on the originally-scheduled spring dates if these events are to happen in a healthy, safe, and stress-free way,” Tory said.
Pride Toronto responded to news of the City’s policy in a statement Tuesday.
