Canada Day 2026 is a scorcher. Toronto sits under an orange heat warning as the city turns 159, and a FIFA World Cup match is happening on the same afternoon. Here is what is open on Canada Day, where to catch fireworks, and how to handle the heat.
The Heat Is the Real Story This Year
Environment Canada has an orange-level heat warning on for Toronto right through Canada Day, with highs near 35°C and a humidex that could push past 45°C. Expect sun in the morning, then a mix of sun and cloud, with roughly a 40 percent chance of showers by early evening. A thunderstorm is possible before things clear overnight to a low around 24°C.
The city has activated its heat relief plan. More than 500 cooling spaces are open across Toronto, plus a 24-hour cooling centre at 136 Spadina. Splash pads and wading pools are running on regular summer hours. Civic centres stay open on the holiday, though community centres do not, except for John Innes and Matty Eckler, which are open strictly for cooling access.
If you’re heading out to any of the events below, plan around the hottest part of the afternoon, bring water, and check on older neighbours or anyone without air conditioning.
What Is Open on Canada Day
Attractions
- CN Tower: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a cupcake giveaway at 1:30 p.m. while supplies last, live chalk art, an airbrush tattoo station, and a postcard marking the tower’s 50th anniversary
- Ripley’s Aquarium: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Aga Khan Museum: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., hosting its Rhythms of Canada Festival with live music, a kite-decorating workshop, and a Game Zone Tent showing all three Canada Day World Cup matches
- Royal Ontario Museum: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (free time-entry tickets are already gone)
- Art Gallery of Ontario: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Casa Loma: 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Toronto Zoo: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Canada’s Wonderland: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Splash Works running 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Indigenous performances from the Smoke Trail Singers
- Allan Gardens Conservatory and Centennial Park Conservatory: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Riverdale Farm: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., free admission
- High Park Animal Display: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (park roads are closed to vehicles for the day)
- Select Toronto History Museums, Scarborough Museum, Gibson House, Montgomery’s Inn, Mackenzie House, and Spadina Museum: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., free admission. Every other location in the network stays closed.
Shopping
CF Eaton Centre (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), Vaughan Mills (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.), and Square One Shopping Centre (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) are all open. More than 100 Beer Store locations across Ontario are running normal hours too, along with a handful of grocery chains, Pusateri’s, Rabba Fine Foods, Summerhill Market, and T&T Supermarket, plus select Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall pharmacies. Hours can vary by location, so it’s worth a quick call ahead.
Free Things to Do
Nathan Phillips Square runs family programming from noon to 6 p.m., with live music, dance performances, a citizenship ceremony, kids’ activities, and mini soccer pitches as part of the city’s Soccer for All program. The square is also a World Cup viewing spot, with Round of 32 matches on the big screen at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. There will not be fireworks at Nathan Phillips Square this year.
A few other neighbourhood celebrations worth planning your day around:
- Thomson Memorial Park: music, face painting, and a pancake breakfast, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Amesbury Park: food vendors, entertainment, and fireworks, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Stan Wadlow Park: live performances, community booths, and fireworks, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Mel Lastman Square: live music, a kids’ zone, a vendor fair, and fireworks, noon to 10 p.m.
Where to Watch Fireworks
The city’s main display goes off at Ashbridges Bay Park starting at 10 p.m. Other spots lighting up at the same time:
- Milliken Park, 4325 McCowan Rd.
- Amesbury Park, 151 Culford Rd.
- Stan Wadlow Park, 888 Cosburn Ave.
- Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge St.
- Downsview Park’s festival terrace, 70 Canuck Ave.
- Harbourfront Centre, viewable from HTO Park or Harbour Square Park, starting a little later at 10:45 p.m. and running until 11 p.m.
Homeowners 18 and older can set off their own fireworks on private property before 11 p.m. without a permit, but parks, beaches, streets, and parking lots are off-limits for personal displays.
What Is Closed
Canada Day is a statutory holiday, so don’t expect much luck at the bank. St. Lawrence Market, every Toronto Public Library branch, and most federal, provincial, and municipal offices are shut. Canada Post is not delivering or collecting mail, though privately run postal outlets may keep their usual hours. The LCBO is closed province-wide. On the mall side, Yorkdale, CF Fairview, CF Sherway Gardens, Dufferin Mall, Scarborough Town Centre, and CF Shops at Don Mills are all closed for the day.
Getting Around
The TTC switches to a Sunday holiday schedule, starting service around 6 a.m. with no planned closures. If you’re headed to Ashbridges Bay for the fireworks, the 22 Coxwell and 92 Woodbine South buses get extended, boosted service from 11:30 a.m. Wednesday through 12:15 a.m. Thursday, with the 22 Coxwell route pushed further south and east to reach Woodbine Beach directly. GO Transit trains and buses run on a Saturday schedule, with no service at all on the Richmond Hill or Milton lines, and UP Express follows its regular weekend timetable. Regular TTC service returns Thursday, July 2.
Bottom Line
Between the heat warning and a World Cup match landing on the same day, this Canada Day looks a bit different than most. Plan indoor stops for the hottest part of the afternoo
I am Rukaiya Kadiwala, an experienced News Content Writer with 6+ years of expertise in hospitality, travel, hotel, restaurant, business, and lifestyle news. Skilled in writing, research, fact-checking, headline creation, and digital publishing, I create accurate, engaging, and high-quality content that informs and attracts readers worldwide.
