A beloved Canada Day tradition in Mississauga’s lakefront community of Port Credit is expected to return this summer after being cancelled in 2025.

A mainstay of the Paint the Town Red celebration every July 1 from 2003 through 2024, the Canada Day parade through the streets of Port Credit did not take place last year.

But it looks to make its return this July.

For a while in early 2025, it appeared the entire Paint the Town Red event would not go ahead as planned on the country’s 158th birthday “due to limitations in funding, increasing operational expenses, logistical difficulties and ongoing economic instability,” organizers said at the time.

However, just weeks after it was announced that all July 1 festivities by the water would be cancelled, the Mississauga lakefront community regrouped and, backed by new financial support, set about delivering a rebranded Canada Day celebration.

Last July 1, #INThePort drew crowds to the country’s revamped birthday bash in Port Credit that included a street festival complete with live music, other performers, vendors and a kids zone. A giant Ferris wheel served as a main attraction.

To cap off the night, fireworks were set off from a barge at the mouth of the Credit River.

Still, the celebrations were missing their centrepiece — the parade that had been a huge part of the party each year since 2003.

Fast-forward to Mississauga city council three weeks ago when the Port Credit BIA (one of the annual Paint the Town Red organizers) and other BIAs in Streetsville and Malton received extra money with which to stage their Canada Day celebrations this July 1.

All three BIAs had received financial help earlier this year through the City of Mississauga’s annual Cultural Festivals and Celebrations Grant Program, but the groups said it wasn’t enough to stage the types of Canada Day celebrations residents had come to expect and enjoy over the years.

With the added money in hand, thanks to a unanimous vote of city council to top up BIA coffers, the Port Credit BIA can work to bring the parade back along with a complete Paint the Town Red celebration on Canada’s birthday.

A presentation to city council from Port Credit BIA executive director Kelly Ralston, just prior to the extra cash being approved, noted the community came together last year to stage the rebranded July 1 celebrations, but “the absence of the longstanding Canada Day parade was strongly felt, with many residents and businesses expressing how much it was missed throughout the day’s festivities.”

Now, “with sustainable investment, BIAs can deliver unforgettable celebrations — including the return of beloved parades, spectacular fireworks, dynamic activations” and more, she added.

Ralston said the additional funding will help organizers meet their Port Credit Canada Day celebrations budget “so we can be in a position where we are going to host our parade.”

Mississauga Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko, who represents the Port Credit community, said the importance of Canada Day — and accompanying patriotic celebrations — can’t be overstated.

“It really is a special holiday … much different than a lot of others; it’s an expression of who we are as Canadians,” he said.


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