2021 International Plowing Match cancelled due to COVID-19: OPA

For the second straight year, and only the fourth time in its history, the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo has been cancelled.

The directors of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the cancellation of the annual meetup, which was to be held in October at the Lindsay Exhibition Grounds, due to COVID-19.

“In spite of the current decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Ontario Government has yet to provide large provincial events with the details concerning capacity limits and additional restrictions,” the statement read.

“While the IPM plans have been progressing, these uncertainties make it impossible to proceed with an in-person event.”

Organizers say since its inception in 1913, the event has only been cancelled two other times with the first being in 1918, during a flu pandemic in Ottawa, and it was also put on hold during the Second World War.

The four-day event is a big draw that typically attracts a host of politicians and 80,000 visitors, resulting in an economic spinoff of about $25 million for the community.

At the last event in 2019, Premier Doug Ford and Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath both attended, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also been in attendance a couple of times.

The association says next year’s event will be held in Kemptville, followed by Dufferin County in 2023.

Lindsay, which was also supposed to host the cancelled event in 2020, will finally get its chance in 2024.

—With files from Global News’ Greg Davis