This is an incomplete list of festivals in Canada. This list includes

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

of diverse types, among them regional festivals, commerce festivals,

fairs A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

food festivals A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...

arts festivals An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

, and recurring festivals on

holidays A holiday is a day set aside by Norm (social), custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate ...

Sublists by locale

Province or territory

List of festivals in Alberta The following is an incomplete list of annual festivals in the province of Alberta, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, including regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festiv ...

(

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

) *

List of festivals in British Columbia A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...

(

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

) *

List of festivals in Manitoba This is a list of festivals in the province of Manitoba, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, and re ...

(

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) * List of festivals in Ontario (

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) *

List of festivals in Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

List of festivals in Quebec This is a non-exhaustive list of festivals held in Quebec. Festivals by city *List of festivals and parades in Montreal List of festivals Gallery File:Célébration de la fête du Double Dix Montréal Canada.jpg, Célébration de la fête ...

(

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

) *

List of festivals in Saskatchewan The following is a list of annual festivals in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. List of festivals Battlefords Region *North Battleford International Street Performer Festival Kindersley region *Goose Festival *Rosetown & District Harves ...

Atlantic Canada

Territories

City

List of festivals in Calgary The following is an incomplete list of annual festivals and cultural events in Calgary and the Calgary Region, in the province of Alberta, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, commerce festivals, f ...

List of festivals in Edmonton This is an incomplete list of festivals in Edmonton, a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. Edmonton plays host to several large festivals each year, hence its local nickname as 'the Festival City.' This list includes festivals of diverse ...

List of festivals in Lethbridge The following is a list of festivals and cultural events in Lethbridge, a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, including regional festivals, trade fairs, commerce festivals, fairs, food festiv ...

List of entertainment events in Greater Moncton This article is a list of major entertainment events held in Greater Moncton. Infrequent events Infrequent events of over 5000 people in attendance. Annual events See also * Moncton * Riverview * Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') ...

List of festivals and parades in Montreal This is a list of festivals and parades in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, and ...

List of festivals in Ottawa This is a list of festivals in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, and recurring f ...

* List of festivals in Toronto *

List of festivals in Vancouver Festivals *Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival *Parade of Lost Souls * Queer Arts Festival *Vancouver International Burlesque Festival * Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival *Vancouver Pride Festival Cultural festivals * Gung Haggis Fat ...

List of festivals in Winnipeg This is a list of festivals in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This list includes festivals of diverse types, such as regional festivals, Trade fairs, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, ...

Sublists by type

List of film festivals in Canada This is a list of film festivals that take place (or took place) in Canada. Where relevant, the list below notes when a festival is considered a qualifying festival for the purposes of the Canadian Screen Awards. National Alberta British Col ...

List of music festivals in Canada This is an incomplete list of music festivals in Canada. Sublists By locale By type *List of classical music festivals#North America, List of classical music festivals#North America *List of electronic music festivals *List of folk festiva ...

* List of jazz festivals#Canada *

List of Canadian blues festivals and venues This is a list of blues festivals in Canada. These festivals—which celebrate Canadian blues music, and often times roots music as well—range from small, community-based festivals that feature mostly local performers, to major corporate-spons ...

Festivals by size

Attendance

L'International des Feux Loto-Québec L'International des Feux Loto-Québec, also known as the Montreal Fireworks Festival, is the largest and most prestigious fireworks competition in the world. It has been held yearly in La Ronde over the Dolphins lake, since 1985, and is named after ...

(Montreal), 3 million #

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

(Montreal), 2.5 million #

Winterlude Winterlude is an annual winter festival held in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec (collectively known as the National Capital Region). Winterlude is run by the Department of Canadian Heritage and was started in 1979. The event is one of Otta ...

(Ottawa), 1.6 million #

Celebration of Light The Honda Celebration of Light (formerly known as ''Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire'' and The HSBC Celebration of Light) is an annual musical fireworks competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The first "Symphony of Fire" was held ...

(Vancouver), 1.6 million # Just For Laughs (Montreal), 1.5 million #

Quebec City Summer Festival Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

(Québec), 1.5 million #

Nuit Blanche Nuit Blanche () (White Night) is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the ...

Toronto, 1.2 million #

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

(Toronto), 1.3 million #

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

, 1.2 million #

Toronto Caribbean Carnival The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's ...

, 1.2 million #

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

, 1.3 million # Montréal En Lumière (Montreal), 0.9 million #

Pacific National Exhibition The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) is a nonprofit organization that operates an annual 15-day summer fair, 10-day winter fair, a seasonal amusement park, and indoor arenas in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The PNE fair is held at Hastings ...

(Vancouver), 0.9 million #

K-Days K-Days, formerly known as the Edmonton Exhibition, Klondike Days, and the Capital Ex, is an annual 10-day exhibition held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada mostly in late July. In recent years it has attracted between 700,000 and 800,000 visitors per ...

(Edmonton), 0.8 million #

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, 0.5 million #

Quebec Winter Carnival The Quebec Winter Carnival (french: Carnaval de Québec), commonly known in both English and French as Carnaval, is a pre-Lenten festival held in Quebec City. After being held intermittently since 1894, the ''Carnaval de Québec'' has been celeb ...

(Quebec City), 0.5 million #

Folklorama Folklorama is an event that runs for two weeks each August in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Visitors to the festival are invited to sample cuisine and celebrate the cultural and ethnic heritage of people from dozens of cultures who have made Winnipe ...

(Winnipeg), 0.4 million # Bluesfest (Ottawa), 0.3 million # Carassauga (Mississauga), 0.3 million #

Festival du Voyageur The Festival du Voyageur is an annual 10-day winter festival that takes place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The event is held during each February in Winnipeg's French quarter, Saint-Boniface, and is western Canada's largest winter festival. It ...

(Winnipeg), 0.1 million

Economic impact

, $470 million #

, $172.4 million #

(Ottawa-Gatineau), $151 million #

(Vancouver), $139 million #

, $136 million #

, $135 million # Just For Laughs (Montreal), $80 million #

(Toronto), $58.6 million #

(Vancouver), $37 million #

, $34 million

Festivals by type

Arts festivals

Children's festivals

Carrousel international du film de Rimouski Carrousel international du film de Rimouski is a children's film festival taking place each year in Rimouski, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian ...

Northern Saskatchewan International Children's Festival Northern Saskatchewan International Children's Festival is held in early June on the shore of the South Saskatchewan River in Kiwanis Park, downtown, Saskatoon. Talented children's performers from around the world are mainstage at this event suc ...

* Ottawa International Children's Festival *

Winnipeg International Children's Festival The Winnipeg International Children's Festival, also known as Kidsfest, is a children's festival held annually at The Forks National Historic Park. The festival is run by "Winnipeg International Children's Festival", which is a charitable, non-pr ...

Comedy festivals

* HubCap Comedy Festival *

FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival is an annual summer comedy festival held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was founded by Stu Hughes (stand-up comic and social entrepreneur) in 2001 and has since grown to become Western Canada's largest comedy ...

Halifax Comedy Festival The Halifax Comedy Festival (often spelled in promotional materials as ''Ha!ifax Comedy Festival'') is an annual comedy festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The festival is sponsored by the CBC which tapes and broadcasts the comedians' ...

* Just For Laughs,

** Comedia (film) ** Zoofest,

Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, also known as the TOSketchfest, is an annual comedy festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, devoted to sketch comedy. Held over 12 days in March, the festival presents performances by both established and emerging s ...

Winnipeg Comedy Festival The Winnipeg Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Created by the Osborne Village Cultural Centre in collaboration with CBC Radio, performances from the festival are also broadcast as a radio series on CBC Radio ...

We're Funny That Way! ''We're Funny That Way'' began as an annual charity comedy festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1996. Launched in 1996 by Maggie Cassella, the festival featured stand-up and sketch comedy shows by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender comedia ...

Cultural festivals

Dance festivals

Canada Dance Festival The Canadian Dance Festival is an annual Ottawa, Ontario event founded in 1987. Held in June, it sets the stage for Canada's most contemporary, innovative and leading edge dance choreographers and dance companies. The festival includes events at t ...

Canadian Ballet Festival The Canadian Ballet Festival was an annual event staged in Canada from 1948 to 1954 that brought together various Canadian dance companies to generate public interest in classical dance. Prior to the festivals, it was difficult for professional Can ...

Festival TransAmériques The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) is an annual dance and theater festival held in Montreal, Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Que ...

Mondial des Cultures The Mondial Des Cultures (formerly called the Festival Mondial de Folklore (''World Folklore Festival'') was a folk dance festival which was held every summer in early July at the Woodyatt Park, in Drummondville, a city located in the Centre-du-Qu ...

Thrill the World Thrill the World is an annual international dance event and world record breaking attempt, in which participants simultaneously emulate the zombie dance seen in the music video of Michael Jackson's " Thriller". The dancers perform in unison at loc ...

Vancouver International Dance Festival The Vancouver International Dance Festival is an annual, month-long contemporary dance festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia. The festival, produced by Kokoro Dance Theatre Society, began in 1998 as a Butoh is a form of Japanese dance t ...

Fairs and exhibitions

Film festivals

Food festivals

Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival The Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival is an annual agricultural and heritage celebration held in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley usually the last weekend of May. The festival draws tourists to the area to take in a number of festival events ...

, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia *

Brighton Applefest The Brighton Applefest was created in 1975 by the merchants of Brighton, Ontario, Canada to promote the Brighton area, and the apple-based culture around it. It is now Brighton's largest yearly event, taking place annually during the last week of ...

, Brighton, Ontario *

Canada's Largest Ribfest Canada's Largest Ribfest is the name of an annual ribfest food festival held in Spencer Smith Park by the lake shore in Burlington, Ontario. The Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Club organizes the four-day-long Ribfest to raise money for charity dur ...

, Burlington, Ontario *

Eat! Vancouver Eat! Vancouver is the largest consumer food festival in Canada. It takes place annually in Vancouver, British Columbia. The three-day festival is held at BC Place, and showcases restaurants and food suppliers from British Columbia and across Canada ...

, Vancouver, British Columbia *

Exploits Valley Salmon Festival The Exploits Valley Salmon Festival is an annual festival held in Grand Falls-Windsor of the Exploits Valley, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that dates back to 1985. Events that are part of the festival include a dance in a stadium and a dinner ...

, Exploits Valley, Newfoundland and Labrador *

Sun and Salsa Festival The Sun and Salsa Festival was an annual festival put on in the Kensington Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) of Calgary, Alberta. It took place along 10 Street and Kensington Road, which both have parts closed off to traffic. Attendance at the f ...

, Calgary, Alberta *

Taste of the Danforth Taste of the Danforth is a yearly festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the Greektown area along Danforth Avenue for a period of three days in August, spawned from the Taste of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is currently ...

, Toronto, Ontario * A Taste of Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta

Fringe festivals

Atlantic Fringe Festival The Halifax Fringe Festival, formerly known as the Atlantic Fringe Festival, is held annually in late August and early September in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Since 1991, the festival has been a showcase for non-mainstream theatre. A wide va ...

Calgary Fringe Festival The Calgary Fringe Festival is an annual Fringe theatre festival in Calgary, Alberta. History The earliest Fringe-type drama festival in Calgary was the Plan B Festival, held in 2000 at a variety of locations in both Calgary's downtown and the ...

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

Island Fringe Festival The Island Fringe Festival is an independent arts and theatre festival that takes place annually in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The Festival was founded by Sarah Segal-Lazar and Megan Stewart in 2012 with the first festival taking place i ...

Ottawa Fringe Festival The Ottawa Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Ottawa. The festival was inaugurated in 1997. The festival takes place for ten days each June. Performances are held indoors and out. Performance spaces Performances all take pla ...

* Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival *

St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival The St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival is a festival that hosts fringe theatre, repertory, dance, music, and drag-queen performances in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The festival is held annually and lasts for 20 days in June. The festival was prev ...

Vancouver Fringe Festival The Vancouver Fringe Festival is an annual Fringe theatre, alternative theatre festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada established in 1985. The event is organized and sponsored by the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society, a volunteer ...

Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is an alternative theatre festival held each year for twelve days in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History Founded in 1988 by the Manitoba Theatre Centre with Larry Desrochers as the first Executive ...

Literary festivals

Banff Mountain Book Festival The Banff Mountain Book Festival is an annual book festival held at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada. Grand Prize * 1994: Chris Bonington and Audrey Saukeld (editors), ''Heroic Climbs'' * 1995: Thomas Wharton, ''Icefields'' * 1996: Stephen Ven ...

Blue Metropolis Blue Metropolis (also known as Blue Met) is an international literary festival held annually in Montreal since 1999. Founded by Montreal writer Linda Leith, it is one of the world's first multilingual literary festival. In early 2011, Leith depar ...

International Literary Festival *

Eden Mills Writers' Festival The Eden Mills Writers' Festival is held annually in the village of Eden Mills, which is approximately east of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The festival includes readings by poets, authors, and other writers at various outdoor venues throughout the v ...

, Eden Mills, Ontario *

The Frye Festival The Frye Festival, formerly known as the Northrop Frye International Literary Festival, is a bilingual (French and English) literary festival held in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada in April of each year. The festival began in 1999 and honours no ...

, Moncton, New Brunswick *

Vancouver Writers Fest The Vancouver Writers Fest is a non-profit organization that produces a variety of literary events in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its main event is the Vancouver Writers Fest, which is an annual week-long literary festival held on Granville ...

Winnipeg International Writers Festival The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events reg ...