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A lucky few hundred people will be enjoying two eastern Ontario attractions on Canada Day for free, after Doug Ford announced the cancellation of Toronto’s Canada Day celebrations.

St. Lawrence Parks Commission is one of 10 organizations across Ontario that will be receiving partial funding from the cancelled celebrations. Each of the 10 organizations will be able to offer 500 free admissions each to Canada Day celebrators.

According to Susan LeClair, acting director of marketing and customer experience at St. Lawrence Parks Commission, the free admissions will be split evenly between Kingston’s Fort Henry and Upper Canada Village, which is located south of Cornwall.

The provincial government says the celebration in Toronto has historically had low attendance and cost between $300,000 and $400,000. The new approach they say will cost up to $80,000.

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After an inquiry from Global News, Laryssa Waler, Ford’s exectutive director of communications, told Global News, “For the first time ever, our government is helping hard-working families celebrate Canada Day by offering free admission to the first 500 visitors at 10 different Ontario agencies and attractions.

“Instead of hosting a single event at Queen’s Park, we are providing free admission for thousands of people to Canada Day events across the province.”

The first 250 visitors through the gates to Fort Henry and Upper Canada Village will be complimentary, says Leclair.

Upper Canada Village opens at 9:30 a.m. and Fort Henry opens at 9:45 a.m. Both offer free parking to visitors.

The other nine attractions are listed below:

Fort William Historical Park (Thunder Bay)

Huronia Historical Parks (Midland and Penetanguishene)

McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Vaughan)

Butterfly Conservatory – Niagara Parks Commission (Niagara)

Ontario Science Centre (Toronto)

Cinesphere – Ontario Place (Toronto)

Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington)

Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto)

Science North (Sudbury)

— With files from Travis Danraj

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