The announcement to cancel Canada Day celebration at Queen’s Park came on June 21 shortly after Doug Ford was met with a chorus of boos during the Raptors victory Parade on June 17, the most recent of three consecutive events where the Ontario premier was heckled on stage.
The premier is becoming unpopular in the province and he has been avoiding public appearances from areas most affected by his cutting policies lately including changing the location of his family Annual Ford Nation party for this year.
The Ford government says the celebration has historically had low attendance and cost between $300,000 and $400,000. The new approach they say will cost up to $80,000, free admission for the first 500 visitors will be offered at some attraction locations across the province.
Mitzie Hunter Rise Up To The Occasion
Despite the Ford government cancelling Canada Day at Queen’s Park, I am excited to announce I have reserved the Queen’s Park lawn on Monday, July 1st from 11am to 3pm, for an old fashioned picnic for all Canadians to attend. Ford cannot stop Canada Day! #ONPoli #ScarbTO pic.twitter.com/NZ3TewB75f
— Mitzie Hunter (@MitzieHunter) June 28, 2019
On Friday, June 28, Mitzie Hunter, a Liberal MPP stepped up to put on the official celebrations. It was announced that a picnic party would be held on the lawn of Queen’s Park in Toronto to celebrate our national day.
A Lecture for Ford on Importance of Tradition
In her official statement, “Ford can’t stop Canada Day! This government has one job – to serve the people of Ontario. Cancelling Canada day at Queen’s Park is a disservice…You can scale it back, you can change it, you can make it better, more attractive for people to come out if you’re worried about costs, but you don’t cancel it.”
In past years, citizenship ceremonies to welcome new Canadians have also taken place in the same event. Most Legislatures across the country have Canada Day celebrations planned this year including Alberta, BC, Manitoba, PEI, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
At the event today, which was hosted as a picnic, the turn out was great.
Happy Canada Day from everyone here celebrating at Queen’s Park! We are here on the lawn with families and friends from all over Ontario. #ONPoli #PeoplesPicnic pic.twitter.com/OM3Ui0oemp
— Mitzie Hunter (@MitzieHunter) July 1, 2019
Meanwhile, more than 16,000 people were gathered on Parliament Hill around 1 p.m. in downtown Ottawa to celebrate Canada Day 2019.
Today on Parliament Hill, we celebrated our beautiful country and all the Canadians who make it such a great place to call home. pic.twitter.com/ibbF24j1Ba
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 1, 2019
