toronto traffic jam

Ridiculous weekend traffic jam has Toronto complaining about roads again

A busy Canada Day long weekend packed with events including Blue Jays games and fireworks displays contributed to some excruciating travel conditions getting around Toronto, including one pretty unbelievable traffic jam that's still generating discussion a few days later.

Traffic ground to a halt in the downtown core on Saturday afternoon and into the evening as the Blue Jays played a home game against the Tampa Bay Rays to a crowd of about 25,000, while tens of thousands more were headed to Woodbine Beach to take in Canada Day fireworks.

And Toronto traffic would not be true Toronto traffic if it weren't for the incessant complaining.

Commenters on social media blame the mayhem on a range of factors, including lovely weather and the rush of long weekend out-of-towners, but several have been quick to point the finger at the region's lack of adequate transit and political policies that favour cars over other modes of transportation.

Perhaps the most common source of blame is the lack of GO and TTC fare integration, which Metrolinx has already implemented in other Greater Toronto Area municipalities.

Proposed solutions to this problem are very different depending on who you ask. Critics argue that fare integration would give local and regional commuters a more practical way to enjoy the city and leave their cars at home.

Some transit users and cyclists say the city needs additional mobility options, while drivers want the city paved over with even more lanes that will immediately clog up with traffic due to induced demand.

Of course, those advocating for transit use had their own headaches this weekend as drivers sat stuck in their cars for hours.

Even motorists who had zero intention of visiting the city centre had to deal with intense traffic on Highway 401 on Saturday. But that's just the 401 for you.

Canada Day weekend traffic has come and gone for another year, and now motorists can resume complaining about the almost as brutal weekday rush hour traffic.

Lead photo by

Jeremy Gilbert


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