“Political differences”: Canada Day parade canceled in Montreal

The organizing committee for the Canada Day Parade in Montreal has announced that the event is scheduled for the 1st^{There is} Canceled next July due to “political differences”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Nicholas Cowan, the event’s lead organizer, said local government leaders had made his job difficult.

“They made it very difficult for me to organize the march,” he said. “Last year, they were asked to fill out the same document multiple times to slow down progress. In fact, last year’s event had to be rescheduled several times to satisfy city officials.

“I thought it was only addressed to me at first because of politics,” he added. “Last year I needed outside help from the offices of various elected officials at various levels of government to make the parade happen. In 24 years of marching experience, I’ve only had to call on an outsider to help with the parade once, and that was in 2018. I asked several organizers about their experiences and they also had issues with the city of Montreal.

Last year, Ottawa reportedly intervened to remove parts of the parade. The budget for the parade was reduced to 2013 levels, complicating the organizers’ work, according to the press release.

Montreal has had a Canada Day parade since 1977. It attracts nearly 120,000 visitors each year, the organization said.