Canadian cities cancel New Year’s Eve parties as celebrations move online

Across the country, residents are being encouraged to tune in to livestreams for fireworks displays and performances or trade parties for outdoor activities.

Canada’s major cities are set to ring in the New Year with more of a gentle chime than a resounding clang, with many official celebrations cancelled or moved online for the second year in a row due to COVID-19.

Across the country, residents are being encouraged to tune in to livestreams for fireworks displays and performances or trade parties for outdoor activities.

New Year’s Eve is coinciding with a wave of record-setting daily COVID-19 cases driven by the fast-moving Omicron variant.

Canada’s largest city is trading its tradition of crowding Nathan Phillips Square for an online event. The livestream will feature pre-recorded performances from iconic Toronto music venues and other locations leading up to fireworks.

“This year’s program allows Torontonians to enjoy the festivities safely at home, helping to protect against the spread of COVID-19,” the city says in a news release.

While there will be no fireworks at the square or CN Tower this year, the city says the “high-altitude fireworks displays” will launch simultaneously across Toronto’s waterfront and can be seen from anywhere with views of Lake Ontario.

The show will honour frontline workers and will be MCed by television personality Devo Brown from a closed studio set, the release says.

The City of Mississauga in Ontario is going further with its safety precautions, cancelling all organized events at Celebration Square for the evening, including fireworks.