The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third or fourth Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day, the first Monday in September. With approximately 1.6 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada's largest annual community event and one of the top fairs in North America.
The exhibition, then known as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, first took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Toronto and area. Agriculturists, engineers, and scientists exhibited their discoveries and inventions at the CNE. The event has since expanded to include a carnival, live music, parades, an air show, various entertainments, sporting events, as well as art displays and specialty vendors and foods. Special events include the Warriors' Day Parade, the Labour Day Parade and the Canadian International Air Show.
Site
The CNE is held at Exhibition Place, which is a site located along Toronto's waterfront on the shores of Lake Ontario just west of downtown Toronto. The site features several permanent buildings and structures, many of which have been named as significant under the Ontario Heritage Act. There are several outdoor live music venues on-site including the CNE Bandshell. All of the roads are named after the Canadian provinces and territories. The site includes a football and soccer stadium, basketball practice facility, green space, fountains, plazas, a rose garden, statues and parking lots.
Historically, it is the site of Fort Rouillé, an 18th-century French fort, marked by a monument. As part of the settlement of Toronto by the British, the site became a military reserve for use by the Toronto Garrison of Fort York and cleared of forest in the early 19th century. The Exhibition received permission to use part of the reserve in the 1870s and expanded to use the whole reserve by the 1920s. In the 1950s, the site was expanded south of Lake Shore Boulevard by landfill, and reduced in size on its northern boundary by the construction of the Gardiner Expressway. During the fair, the portion of the site west of Dufferin Street is no longer used.
Points of interest Shows and attractions The 18-day event consists of a mix of live entertainment, agricultural displays, exhibits, a large carnival midway with many rides, games and food, casino, sports events and shopping areas. The Canadian International Air Show on Labour Day weekend has been a major feature of the fair since 1949, held over Lake Ontario just south of the CNE grounds. There are two major parades at the CNE, the Warriors' Day Parade of veterans on the first Saturday of the fair and the Labour Day Parade of workers on Labour Day. The Warriors' Day Parade honours Canada's military veterans and includes military vehicles.
The Canadian Armed Forces has a display each year at the fair. The fair is not affiliated with the Government of Canada; however, the federal government has often had exhibits at the CNE and has had its own pavilion.
Several buildings house exhibits and displays from vendors, government agencies and various industry associations. These include the International Pavilion of products from around the world, and the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Building which features unique items and collectibles. The Enercare Centre complex holds the International Pavilion, a garden show, and the SuperDogs performances. It also has exhibit space used for agricultural or industrial displays and a live stage. The Food Building houses a large number of vendors offering food from many cultures, reflecting Toronto's multicultural population. The Better Living Centre building is used for the CNE Casino on one side, and an agricultural display on the other. The CNE continues its tradition of agricultural produce competitions and the winners are displayed in the Better Living Centre.
The 1794 "Scadding Cabin" log cabin dates back to the first year of the fair, when it was moved here from its original location. The cabin was the residence of an early Upper Canada colonist John Scadding. The cabin is only open to the public during the CNE.
The fair has two midways of rides and carnival games. The Kiddie Midway is located in the northwest corner of Exhibition Place, with smaller rides suitable for children under 12. The midway for older youths and adults is situated west of the Enercare Centre and south of BMO Field. It has several dozen rides, including thrill rides, roller coasters, swing rides and a log plume ride. Along several pathways of the midway area are carnival games of "skill", games of chance and many carnival food vendors. The CNE operates a "sky ride", with chairs similar to ski-lift chairs, to carry riders from just west of the Princes' Gates to south of BMO Field.
The Coca-Cola Coliseum is used for live shows. Including high-wire acts, skating, and the RCMP Musical Ride in the past, most recently was an aerial and acrobatic show featuring Olympic skater Elvis Stojko. Outdoors, the Bandshell is used for daily music and nightly headliners. Additionally, areas are set up at various points around the ground for outdoor entertainment. These include such things as beer gardens, musical acts, acrobatic acts, buskers, parkour displays, circus acts, children's shows and educational displays.
The CNE grounds is also home to BMO Field, a large multi-purpose facility located in the centre of the grounds. The stadium is used by two professional sports teams based in Toronto, the Toronto Argonauts Canadian football team and the Toronto FC soccer (association football) team. Each team plays at least one home game during the fair.
The CNE holds several sports tournaments during the fair. At Coronation Park, located across Lake Shore Boulevard, to the east of the Princes' Gates, the CNE holds two baseball tournaments. It holds a youth peewee baseball tournament and a girl's fastball tournament. The tournaments used to be played at a baseball diamond in the far west corner of Exhibition Place, but that diamond was replaced by the OVO Athletic Centre. At the Centre, the CNE holds a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Each night of the fair, live music is presented at the CNE Bandshell. It is an outdoor venue in the west end of the park, with a stage reminiscent of the Hollywood Bowl and bench seats in a park-like setting that gently slopes down to the Bandshell. Built in the 1930s, the stage has had a huge number of performances from famous entertainers from many different genres over the years. In the past, the various Exhibition Stadiums hosted large outdoor concerts. The current BMO Field is not used for outdoor live concerts, preserving the field's surface for sports. Today, the Budweiser Stage south of Lake Shore Boulevard in Ontario Place hosts large live concerts during the Ex and all summer long. During the fair, several stages are set up at different places, with live music in a beer garden setting.
Food
Many options are available across the site during the fair. The CNE Food Building offers a wide variety of food options including desserts, international cuisine, and fast food, as well as novelty items, including Frosted Flake, Battered Chicken on a Stick, Deep Fried Red Velvet Oreos and Bacon Wrapped Grilled Cheese. Halal, vegetarian and healthy food options are also widely available. The Food Building, which opened September 1, 1954, celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2024.
Since the 2012 season, the CNE has hosted a food truck rally called "Food Truck Frenzy." This event takes place on Princes' Boulevard just inside the Princes' Gates at the east end of the grounds. The 2016 edition featured 26 food trucks serving specialty foods. A "Craft Beer Fest" was added to the event in 2015 and continues to this day. During the fair, several licensed restaurants operate on the grounds.
Shopping
Several shopping opportunities are available for visitors at the CNE:
Queen Elizabeth Building: Arts, Crafts and Hobbies
Enercare Centre:
Gaming Garage Home and Garden Pavilion International Pavilion Shoppers' Market Warehouse Outlets
Outdoors: Booths line several streets of the fair ground.
History
In September 1846, the Provincial Agricultural Fair of Canada West, sponsored by the Provincial Agricultural Association and the Board of Agriculture for Canada West, was held in Toronto in the area near present-day King and Simcoe Streets. While primarily an agricultural event, it also displayed manufactured goods and decorative arts and crafts. The fair was a success, and it was proposed that future fairs be held in different locations each year. In 1847, the fair was held in Hamilton and thereafter travelled to such cities as Cobourg, Kingston, Niagara, and Brockville.CNE Archives. 2013.
In 1852, the fair returned to the west side of University Avenue (see Grange Park (neighbourhood)), stretching from a bit north of Dundas Street to a bit south of College Street. It lasted four days. The Horse Park, on the west side of the grounds, was loaned to the fair by Mrs. Boulton, who lived in the Grange, and it was bounded on the north by the Caer Howell Pleasure Grounds (in a way a forerunner of the midway). The fair was a success, attracting more than visitors. In 1853, the fair moved on to another city and didn't return to Toronto until 1858 when the fair was held at the new Dufferin Street site. In 1878, Toronto again hosted the fair. Afterwards, Toronto City Council and the local Exhibition Committee approached the Provincial Agriculture Association with a proposition: that the fair remain permanently in Toronto. The Association thanked City Council and the Exhibition Committee for their work in delivering a successful fair in 1878 but informed them that a decision had already been made to move the fair to another city in 1879.
Toronto City Council, along with local businessmen, moved ahead with plans to establish a permanent fair in Toronto. The new fair, known as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, opened on September 2, 1879, and lasted for three weeks (Sundays excepted). The site hosted an attendance of more than 100,000 paid admissions and 8,234 exhibits.
As the fair grew, it exhibited the latest technological advances. Exhibition patrons were introduced to electric railway transportation in 1883, to "Edison's Perfected Phonograph" in 1888, to "wireless telegraphy" at the 1899 fair, radio in the 1920s, to television in 1939, to plastics and synthetics in the 1940s.
In its twenty-fifth iteration, the 1903 fair was the first known as the Canadian National Exhibition, and it was officially opened by Lord Strathcona.
In 1937, Conklin Shows was awarded the contract to provide amusement rides and games for the CNE midway. The company was sold in 2004 for million and merged with two other carnival operators to form North American Midway Entertainment, which now operates the midway.