Canada Day celebrations cancelled at Nathan Phillips Square this year. Here's why

The City of Toronto has confirmed that this year’s Canada Day celebrations in Nathan Phillips Square have been cancelled due to “resource constraints.”

A representative for the city said preparations had been made for the celebrations, including the recruitment of volunteers and information sessions, but will no longer “activate” celebrations in front of City Hall due to insufficient resources.

Other Canada Day festivities across the city will still take place, including the fireworks display at Ashbridge’s Bay and lead-up activities in the week preceding July 1.

The comment follows a newly-released campaign from the City of Toronto encouraging residents and businesses to ask the federal government to provide the city supplementary funding.

Toronto’s budgetary shortfall of nearly $1 billion dollars will result in further cuts to city services if not remedied soon, the city has said, including vital construction and transit projects.