Prime Minister promises to help save Toronto’s Santa Claus parade

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to help the Santa Claus parade in a post on X, formally Twitter.

“I heard that the Santa Claus Parade is having challenges,” said Prime Minister Trudeau in his post on Friday, Nov. 15. “So we’re going to help them out. It’s a great tradition and we want to keep it going for years to come.”

CEO and President of the parade Clay Charter told CBC News it’s encouraging to see government support and he’s excited to hear more.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to save next year’s Santa Claus parade in Toronto. The campaign has a goal of $250,000 to fill the current deficit and has raised over $71,000. If the goal isn’t met there won’t be a parade in 2025, Charter had said in a press release earlier last week.. This year’s parade is this Sunday, Nov. 24 and will be live streamed on YouTube for the first time. 

The parade has run uninterrupted for 120 years. Corporate sponsors have covered the majority share of the parade’s funding. This year’s sponsors include 98.1 CHFI, Ambient Mechanical, Canadian Tire Ltd., Caribbean Carnival, Casa Loma, CIBC, Circle K, Desjardins, Fitzrovia, LEGO, McCain, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, Metro, Pizza Pizza, and more. Eighty-five per cent of the parade costs are covered by sponsorships.

Less than five per cent of parade costs are covered by government funding. Recent corporate budget constraints, growing parade day costs such as security, floats, warehouse space, barricades, and television livestreaming production have all put the parade in a difficult position for next year, Charters said in a press release. One cost-cutting measure has been to cancel the live television broadcast and have a YouTube livestream instead,

The original Santa Claus Parade has run since 1905 with the sponsorship of T. Eaton. The first Santa Claus parade was a one man show with Santa Claus being the only attraction as he rode in a special vehicle handing out souvenirs to the community. Now the Santa Claus parade has become one of Canada’s largest children’s parades in North America with more than 750,000 viewers and the largest outdoor entertainment event held in Canada every year. Some people have even created a tradition around the Santa Claus Parade.

“I’ve donated $100, I had to donate,” says Damien Davis, a 36-year old Canadian dental assistant. “My girlfriend is crazy about Christmas and when she heard the news she practically fell to her knees and is now trying to get people to donate so the parade can run. We’ve attended the parade together since 2018 and we’ve always enjoyed seeing what floats are going to be in the parade each year. I’m sure this parade means something to people because it’s run for so long.”

“It’s always been a tradition for my family,” says Avery Garcia, a 42-year old Canadian teacher. “I’ve been going to see the parade since I was a kid and I’ve been able to carry on the tradition with my own family now. I haven’t told my kid and I hope they don’t know because I don’t even know how I would begin to explain it to them. I think it might just kill the Christmas magic for my girls. Hearing that it could possibly not be happening next year is devastating and I hope enough money can be raised in time.”

There are other ways to support the parade rather than donating such as buying parade merchandise, participating in the Holly Jolly Fun Run on the day of the parade, and wearing a red nose in support of the Parade and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.  For more information about the parade, visit https://thesantaclausparade.com.