TORONTO — Canada’s largest city, Toronto, announced Tuesday it is canceling all city-led and permitted events through June 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mayor John Tory said that includes Pride Toronto in late June.
Don Peat, a spokesman for the mayor, said it applies to events that get city permits like parades and festivals and does not include sports events like the Blue Jays, Raptors and Maple Leafs.
Tory said the health and safety of residents has to be the priority and said physical distancing is critical.
He added that it is in line with the province’s ban of gatherings of more than five people.
“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 original scheduled spring dates if these events are to happen in a healthy safe and stress-free way,” Tory said.
The decision to cancel was made in consultation with Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health.
Toronto has at least 628 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including eight deaths.
