PHOTOS: What the Toronto Santa Claus Parade looked like over its 120-year history

Over its 120-year history, the Toronto Santa Claus Parade has changed, but it has always ended with the big man in red.

The 121st Santa Claus Parade returns to Toronto on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 12:30 p.m. The parade starts at Christie Pitts, heads east on Bloor Street, south on University Avenue and ends at the St. Lawrence Market.

The parade will look much different than it did over 100 years ago.

Toronto’s first parade, on Dec. 2, 1905, was a promotion for Eaton’s department store chain. The Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade started with a single float, which picked up Santa from Union Station and delivered him to the downtown Toronto Eaton’s store.

Children line the streets to watch the parade in 1932.

In the following years, a very nimble Santa would climb a ladder to enter the department store.

Santa Claus climbs a ladder to enter Eaton’s department store in 1918.

The parade grew and changed over the years.

In 1913, live reindeer, which had been imported from Labrador, joined the parade, along with a dedicated veterinarian.

A centipede float in 1925.

During the Great Depression, toy-themed floats and storybook characters were popular.

Wooden soldiers in 1926.

Huge crowds gathered in the midst of the Great Depression.

An elephant float in 1930.

During the Second World War, when materials were scarce, most of the parade costumes were made of paper.

Floats were pulled by horses in 1930.

The parade was first televised on CBC in 1952, and by 1957, it had grown to include 13 large floats, nearly 20 smaller floats with two horse-drawn carriages, and 2,000 people marching.

A Robin Hood theme float in 1956.

As the parade’s popularity grew in the 1970s, the route was lengthened to 7.5 miles to allow for larger crowds.

A goose and colourful characters are seen in 1964.

More than 30 million people across North America watched the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade on television. In 1976, there were 33 small and large floats in the parade.

A giant egg was part of the fun in 1974.

In 1982, Eaton’s announced it was withdrawing from sponsorship of the parade, and the annual tradition nearly ended. But a group of business people, led by Ron Barbaro and George Cohon, formed a not-for-profit organization to save the parade.

A purple gorilla joined the route in the early 1990s.

By 2004, the parade was drawing crowds of over half a million and the route was changed again.

In 2020 and 2021, the parade was filmed at Canada’s Wonderland and broadcast due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2022.

Photos: Toronto Archives