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Toronto’s giant rubber duck generated millions of dollars, festival says

Click to play video: 'Giant rubber duck arrives in Ontario amid outcry over price tag'
Giant rubber duck arrives in Ontario amid outcry over price tag
WATCH: Giant rubber duck arrives in Ontario amid outcry over price tag – Jun 30, 2017

TORONTO – A Toronto waterfront festival that hosted an unexpectedly controversial giant rubber duck says it generated millions of dollars in economic activity.

The Redpath Waterfront Festival says a study conducted by Enigma Research shows the economic impact of the festival was a record $7.6 million.

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About 750,000 people attended, which the festival attributes in part to the attraction billed as the world’s largest rubber duck. The six-storey, 13,600-kilogram yellow duck was brought to Toronto by the festival at a total cost of $200,000.

READ MORE: PCs call $120K Ontario government grant for giant rubber duck a waste of money

The Ontario government gave the festival an approximately $120,000 grant, which Opposition politicians called a “cluster duck” and an absurd use of taxpayer dollars.

The festival says area businesses reported record sales over that Canada Day weekend and that water taxis received a boost in business after a challenging summer due to Toronto island closures.

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