Ottawa St. Patrick's Day parade cancelled due to lack of volunteers, money

Ottawa's St. Patrick's Day parade, a decades-long tradition, has been cancelled due to a lack of volunteers and funding.

Sean Kealey, president of the Ottawa Irish Society, said the 38th edition of the parade will not go ahead this year.

"Expenses for the parade are way beyond previous years," Kealey said in an email. "For instance, the barricades that we need to block traffic went up from around $3,500 to $9,000."

"We needed a lot more sponsorships but it's tough for businesses these days."

This year's parade had been scheduled for Saturday, March 11. It would have started at city hall and head down Laurier Avenue and Bank Street to Lansdowne Park.

The parade was supposed to culminate in the annual St. Patrick's Day party at the Aberdeen Pavilion, co-hosted by the Irish Society and Big Rig Brewery. That party is also cancelled.

The parade hasn't happened since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was one of the first major events cancelled in March 2020 when the pandemic began, and has not returned since.

Transportation Committee chair Coun. Tim Tierney, told CTV News that first cancellation was very costly. 

"They had to take a big bath that year; there was entertainment and people who had to be paid in advance and they never recouped that money, so it was a difficult couple of years," he said.

Tierney says the barricades are provided by an external supplier but they're not the only things that have gone up in price. He also said sponsors have also had a difficult time.

"We've noticed during COVID times, everything from porta-potties, which have doubled in cost, to barricades and insurance, everything across the board has seen that increase in cost," he explained. "A lot of local businesses, unfortunately, are in tight positions this year where they're unable to contribute and sponsor and that makes this a big blow for this year's parade but I'm not disheartened; we'll continue on and 2024 is going to be a giant year."