{
  "id": 19676467,
  "title": "Toronto’s Santa Claus Parade to travel down Yonge St. due to ongoing downtown construction",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/torontos-santa-claus-parade-to-travel-down-yonge-st-due-to-ongoing",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T16:26:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CityNews",
    "slug": "citynews",
    "url": "https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/11/12/toronto-santa-claus-parade-new-route/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This year, the Original Santa Claus Parade will march along Yonge Street for the first time in over a decade, as construction in the downtown core necessitates the change. The 122nd edition of the parade is set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 12:30 p.m. Despite the traditional starting point of Christie Pits remaining the same, the parade will now traverse Yonge Street, a notable departure from its usual southbound route. Clayton Charters, president and CEO of the Original Santa Claus Parade, explained that the move was made to accommodate ongoing construction in the downtown area. \"We've come down University [Avenue] historically, but we live in a big city, there’s construction happening, we understand that, so we've accommodated a new route,\" he noted. This change also means the parade route is a bit longer this year, approximately seven kilometers in length. Charters stated that the parade will begin at St. Lawrence Market around 2:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. after the floats take about two hours to reach the market from the starting point. The parade is expected to conclude around 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Numerous road closures are scheduled around the parade time to accommodate the multitude of floats, marching bands, and participants. Charters emphasized the parade's commitment to safety, saying, \"We work really, really closely with all of our partners at the City of Toronto, with Toronto Police Service, Fire and Toronto Paramedic Service to make sure that we're putting on a great event that's also very safe to everyone to take part in.\" This year's parade will feature 23 floats, including nine new ones, along with 17 marching bands, acrobats, and other performers. The parade organizers have a dedicated team of full-time staff who work on these floats year-round, handcrafted and hand-built in collaboration with the parade's sponsors and partners.",
  "summary": "The Original Santa Claus Parade will travel down Yonge Street this year, for the first time in over a decade, to accommodate ongoing construction in the downtown core. The 122nd edition of the parade is being held on Sunday, Nov. 22, starting at 12:30 p.m. While the traditional starting point of Christie Pits will continue […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}