Toronto's beloved Taste of the Danforth could be making a comeback in summer 2026

After being cancelled for two consecutive years, Toronto's cherished Taste of the Danforth food festival may be back on the table. At least, Doug Ford and Olivia Chow are pledging their pocketbooks to help make it happen.

At a press conference held on Feb. 18, Premier Ford was joined by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow (as well as a handful of other provincial ministers and members of parliament), and the two dropped some hopeful breadcrumbs about the future of the festival.

Their appearance was unrelated to Taste of the Danforth or local festivals at all, but rather an update on the future Ontario Line; discussion of how the future line could reinvigorate the communities it connects appeared to get Ford's wheels turning.

"Do you know what I miss? I miss the Taste of the Danforth," Ford says, admittedly going "off script" near the end of the conference.

"Yeah," a voice, seemingly Chow's, can be heard saying off-screen, "it's happening this year."

"I will commit, and I'll talk to our friend, the boss there, to see if we can put money into, you know, revitalize the Taste of the Danforth," Ford goes on to say.

The municipal government won't get away "scot-free," though, Ford says, insisting that Chow will also have to put "a little bit" of money in, "but we'll put a little more in."

Later in the conference, Mayor Chow confirms that the City of Toronto's budget includes designated funding to revive the festival.

"Let's bring it back this year, because I missed it in the last two years," Chow concludes.

Taste of the Danforth, which saw Danforth Ave. transformed into a pedestrian street lined with local food and retail vendors, last ran in the summer of 2023, the first year back after three years of Covid-19-related closures.

Despite excitement from the public for the festival's return, the 2023 festival posed a slew of infrastructural and financial difficulties that led to its cancellation in 2024. When time rolled around for the 2025 edition, it was the same story.

Taste of the Danforth is just one in a concerning trend of cherished Toronto festivals and events getting cancelled in recent years. Fellow favourites like Toronto Oktoberfest, Taste of the Junction and the Little Jamaica Festival are just a few that didn't run in 2025.

While Taste of the Danforth hasn't officially confirmed its return in summer 2026, the verbal financial pledges from both the provincial and municipal governments certainly lend to a positive outlook.

The complete press conference can be streamed on the Premier of Ontario YouTube channel.