Update on MM40.20 - Reinstating Paddle the Don for 2027

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The decision

2026-06-24 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on June 24 and 25, 2026, adopted the following: 1. City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, to consult with Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (Waterfront Toronto) on joining with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Toronto, to assist in the design and delivery of a 2027 reimagined Paddle the Don, that would end at the newly created Canoe Landing in the naturalized Don River.

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2. City Council request the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to provide the City of Toronto with the financials associated with the Paddle the Don events of previous years, as well as documentation related to organizing the Paddle the Don event. 3. City Council request the Director, Waterfront Secretariat, to report to the first meeting of the appropriate Standing Committee in the first quarter of 2027 with a status report on the work done for Paddle the Don.

The vote

Adopt Item · Carried, 22-0

Absent (4)Anthony Perruzza, Lily Cheng, Mike Colle, Rachel Chernos Lin

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On the agenda

As the city filed it

Paddle the Don was a Toronto and Region Conservation Authority event that ran from 1993 to 2019. The event was framed around watershed awareness and environmental stewardship and included a guided canoe trip down the Don River, engaging roughly 500 participants annually. In 2020, the event was paused due to a combination of factors, including COVID-19, ongoing construction in the Lower Don, and broader operational, safety, and financial considerations associated with delivering the event.

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Toronto and Region Conservation Authority have identified several considerations that must be addressed in order to reinstate Paddle the Don in 2027. These include coordinating event operations in consideration of ongoing construction activities in the lower Don, assessing staff time and resources required to deliver the event, and reviewing financial implications associated with event costs. City staff will continue to work collaboratively across divisions and with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to support a reinstatement of Paddle the Don, as appropriate, particularly through inter-divisional and inter-agency coordination.

Staff recommended

The General Manager, Parks and Recreation, the Director, Urban Forestry, and the Director, Waterfront Secretariat recommend that: 1. The Infrastructure and Environment Committee receive this report for information.

Considered

2026-06-10 · Infrastructure and Environment Committee · amended
Decision as filed
The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that: 1. City Council request the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, to consult with Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (Waterfront Toronto) on joining with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the City of Toronto, to assist in the design and delivery of a 2027 reimagined Paddle the Don, that would end at the newly created Canoe Landing in the naturalized Don River.
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2. City Council request the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to provide the City of Toronto with the financials associated with the Paddle the Don events of previous years, as well as documentation related to organizing the Paddle the Don event. 3. City Council request the Director, Waterfront Secretariat, to report to the first meeting of the appropriate Standing Committee in the first quarter of 2027 with a status report on the work done for Paddle the Don.
2026-06-24 · Toronto City Council · adopted

On the record

The item as the City filed it

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