Peterborough city staff are recommending the annual Canada Day parade be cancelled and the $20,000 budgeted for the parade in 2024 instead be devoted to alternative events.
A report to be presented to city council at its general committee meeting on Monday (April 22) states the parade “is no longer a sustainable activity” due to a decline in the number of float entries over the past five years.
“Staff are instead planning for a wider range of alternative events that are a better use of budgeted funds, are more easily managed, and are suited to draw interest from the public,” states the report from community services commissioner Sheldon Laidman.
According to the report, the number of float entries has declined since the pandemic. In 2019, there were 56 float entries, although only 16 participated due to heat and humidity. The parade was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and, when it resumed in 2022, saw only 21 float entries that year and only 25 in 2023.
In comparison, the 2023 Santa Claus parade had move than 60 float entries.
“Considering the costs associated with road closures and the lower float participation numbers the parade is no longer either financially or logistically sustainable as a part of the Canada Day celebrations,” reads the report, noting that the city does not employ staff directly to run events and recreation and park staff have to manage them in addition to their regular job duties.
Instead, the city plans to host a number of other activities on Canada Day, including:
- A mid-morning family-friendly event at Millennium Park, offering several activities such as face painting, music and performers, Zumba, games, try-it activities, and refreshments.
- An afternoon family-friendly music show and entertainment on the stage at Del Crary Park prior to the scheduled Peterborough Musicfest concert in the evening.
- An evening fireworks event following the Peterborough Musicfest concert.
According to the report, a city staff working group was created to review previous Canada Day celebrations. The group consulted with community partners at the New Canadians Centre — which hosts annual multicultural celebrations that culminate on Canada Day — to review the proposed recommendations. Staff at the New Canadians Centre supported the recommendations and provided resources and contacts.
The group also consulted with representatives of Peterborough Musicfest about a city-run afternoon family-friendly music event prior to the evening concert. According to the report, festival organizers and the festival’s sound provider supported the afternoon event.
As for fireworks over Little Lake on Canada Day, another staff report to be presented to general committee on Monday is recommending the fireworks platform in Little Lake be decommissioned and disposed of, with fireworks displays launched from the T wharf and other approved sites instead.
According to the report from acting municipal operations commissioner Jen McFarlane and community services commissioner Sheldon Laidman, the Little Lake fireworks platform has failed several times in the past — most recently in January 2023 when it broke free of its moorings due to high water levels and drifted away, “risking catastrophic damage to critical infrastructure” including the Little Lake fountain.
City staff and a contractor were able to recover the platform and tow it to land, where it remained, with the Canada Day fireworks display for 2023 launched from the T wharf at a lower cost. Because it was no longer in use, the city did not insure the platform in 2023, saving around $2,000 in annual premiums.
“If returned to Little Lake the fireworks platform will incur significant cost, and continued liability to the city’s fountain, as well as other assets on the Trent Severn Waterway,” the report states.
The report notes the estimated engineering costs to review and design a permanent platform would be $10,000 along with additional costs for anchoring and installation, for a total of $14,680, as well as insurance costs estimated at $2,000 per year.
The report adds that, although city staff have received suggestions that the platform could be repurposed as a dock for boats or for swimming, doing so would require additional costs that would exceed the costs of a dock designed and built for those purposes.
