Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade back on, organizers say

Organizers of Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade say they intend to have it go ahead this March, after it became one of the first major public events to be cancelled in the city as the coronavirus pandemic took hold two years ago.

The annual parade was first cancelled on March 15, 2020, as the novel coronavirus began to spread uncontrollably in the city and the rest of Ontario.

Its organizers once again cancelled it the following March but say that vaccination efforts and provisions of the Ontario government’s latest reopening plan mean it can go ahead this year.

“Following widespread vaccinations and the planned lifting of restrictions, we are looking forward to returning with our parade on Sunday, March 20,” St. Patrick’s Day Parade Society Chair Shaun Ruddy said in a statement released Wednesday.

Up to 5,000 people take part in the parade each year, aside from spectators.

Toronto Mayor John Tory told CP24 that while he personally believes the parade can go ahead, it has not yet been approved by the city.

“This hasn’t been in front of us for our own consideration, it will have to be,” he said. “But I am optimistic that the health conditions will be able to permit us to say yes because we’ve missed two St. Patrick’s Days.”

Ruddy told CP24 that for much of the last two years, the organizers had a “parade in a can,” an idea on paper about what a post-pandemic parade could look like, and are now excited they can make the plan a reality.

“After the last couple of years we just want to people to come out and support us on the streets. Leave the parade to us but if the people come out, we’ll be really happy.”

He said they are reaching out to sponsors and cultural groups both within and outside the Irish community in Toronto to line up groups of performers and participants.

This year, it will begin at Bloor Street West and St. George Street, heading east to Yonge Street, south to the Queen Street and then past a review stand at Nathan Phillips Square.

Both Pride Toronto and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival say they are planning for in-person marches and parades this summer after two years of cancelling or significantly altering in-person activities due to the pandemic.