Improvements to Parksville’s 2026 Canada Day Parade Route

March 20, 2026

For the third year, the City of Parksville will host Canada Day celebrations in Parksville; a great family-friendly event for the community with a little more to do and see in 2026. Our theme for this year is “Proudly Canadian, Proudly Parksville.”

We are announcing a change to the parade route for 2026. The parade will no longer turn up and travel along Craig Street. The one-way portion of Craig Street is narrow and the turn at the Island Highway continues to prove difficult for parade participants. It is challenging to keep spectators away from parade vehicles, despite using traffic control personnel to secure the area.

This minor adjustment to the route is being done in consultation with local emergency service organizations, City operations, and traffic control management. This decision was not taken lightly, and many factors were considered when making the decision. We are aware of evolving safety concerns at large events in our country which has caused us to evaluate the route. Our primary concern will always be the safety of parade participants and spectators.

As usual, the parade will begin at Shelly Road and Island Highway East travelling along Island Highway towards Alberni Highway where the parade will end. The dispersal area will now be along Harrison Avenue where public parking lots are located. The decision to change the route for the Canada Day parade was made to ensure everyone's safety and is a proactive measure to protect participants and spectators. We understand many people who watch the parade from Craig Street will need to move to a different location along the Island Highway route.

From early morning until early afternoon, Craig Street from Middleton to the Island Highway will close to vehicles. The Shriners’ Pancake Breakfast along with a few activities will be planned for Craig Street as a space open to pedestrians. This change will also open more street parking along Craig Street as well as access to public parking lots.

On Canada’s 159^th birthday, we come together to celebrate and shine a light on our country and whatever it is that makes you proud! We hope you will share in the day and connect with families, neighbours and friends at Parksville’s Canada Day festivities. Canada Day details as they come available are posted to Let’s Talk Parksville. A map showing the revised parade route is available at this link and included with this release.

For more information:
Deb Tardiff, Manager of Communications
communications@parksville.ca; 250 954-3073