The City of Barrie is advising of road closures downtown on Saturday to facilitate the running of the Freedom of the City event outside City Hall.
With the parade beginning at 2 p.m., the following closures will be in place:
- Full closure of Collier Street from Owen Street to Mulcaster Street from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Intermittent temporary closure along the parade route between 2 to 2:30 p.m. including Worsley Street (Owen Street to Clapperton Street ), Clapperton Street (Worsley Street to Collier Street ), Collier Street (Clapperton Street to Owen Street ).
- Intermittent temporary closure along the parade route between 3 to 3:30 p.m. including Mulcaster Street (Collier Street to Worsley Street ), Worsley Street (Mulcaster Street to Clapperton Street).
The City adds the H-Block parking lot downtown will also be closed from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In honour of Canadian Forces Base Borden’s 110th anniversary, it will be granted "freedom of the city" again after receiving it in 2016 for its 100th anniversary. The City says the 2026 ceremony will reaffirm the shared history, values, and enduring partnership between it and the Canadian Armed Forces base.
“This symbolic gesture celebrates the trust, gratitude and friendship between the community of Barrie and the members of the Canadian Armed Forces serving at Canadian Forces Base Borden,” Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said in a release.
Canadian Forces Base Borden is recognized as the birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, is central to Canada’s military heritage. Soldiers and aviators have trained there for over a century, many of them at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering at 16 Wing.
