Toronto’s Labour Day parade stepped off from University Avenue and Queen Street West at 9:30 a.m., marched west along Queen and south down Dufferin Street, and finished inside the CNE at the Dufferin Gate. “That’s a wrap on another incredible Labour Day,” the Toronto and York Region Labour Council posted once the last contingent was in.
The Labour Council had said it expected more than 20,000 members on the street. The CNE, which the parade finishes inside, put the number closer to 25,000 and gave this year’s theme as “Workers Shape Our Future.” No official count has been released.
CUPE Ontario said it led the unions this year. ACTRA Toronto marched to press Ontario for Status of the Artist legislation, which would extend basic labour protections to performers and other artists.
The morning opened with a press conference at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Sir Adam Beck statue at Queen and University, where Labour Council president Andria Babbington was followed by the presidents of the Canadian Labour Congress, the Ontario Federation of Labour and CUPE Ontario, OPSEU president JP Hornick, United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council president Carolyn Egan and ACTRA Toronto president Kate Ziegler.
Roads reopening
University Avenue, Queen Street West and Dufferin Street were closed along the route. They reopen in stages behind the parade through the early afternoon.
TTC diversions run into the afternoon
The TTC is on a holiday schedule today — Sunday service, but starting earlier at about 6 a.m. Routes that do not normally run on Sundays are not running. On top of that, the parade takes out a long stretch of two streetcar lines:
- 501 Queen — service is split. The west end runs via Roncesvalles Avenue, the east end diverts via Richmond, Victoria and Adelaide streets. Replacement buses run from Sunnyside Loop to Queen Street East from 7 a.m.
- 504 King — streetcars turn back from Spadina Avenue via Adelaide Street West, Charlotte Street and King Street West. Buses replace service from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. King Street West between Elm Grove and Spadina avenues is not served.
- 503 Kingston Road — replacement buses run from Bingham Loop to King Street and Fraser Avenue, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- 29 Dufferin and 929 Dufferin Express — redirected at Dundas Street West, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- 63 Ossington — diverting both ways via Dundas Street West, Bathurst Street and King Street, 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst — eastbound only from Exhibition Loop from 5 p.m. to the end of service.
The TTC has added service on 29 Dufferin, 929 Dufferin Express, 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst for the CNE, plus express shuttle buses from Dufferin station.
What is still on
The parade ended inside the CNE, and entry was included with Ex admission. Today is the last day of the Ex, and the gates close at 5 p.m. — four hours before the grounds do. The Canadian International Air Show flies its final day over the waterfront from noon.
Why the parade goes where it goes
The march is not decoration. Toronto’s Labour Day parade descends directly from the demonstrations held after the 1872 printers’ strike, which put 10,000 people in Queen’s Park and pushed Ottawa into legalizing unions three days later. Labour Day itself was invented here, and the American holiday was copied from it.
Source: Toronto Transit Commission, “Take the TTC this Labour Day weekend”, September 3, 2026.
