PDAC 2027 in Toronto: Delegate Guide to the MTCC, Hotels and Airport Runs

When is PDAC 2027, and where do delegates need to be?

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention is the busiest week of the year for Toronto's downtown core. PDAC says the full 2027 schedule will be posted once confirmed in the fall, that registration opens in early December and that partner hotel rates were due to be posted in summer 2026. It also notes that delegates book hotels directly, since PDAC does not manage reservations and does not use third-party housing bureaus. The PDAC attendee page is the source for dates and registration, and it is worth reading before you confirm any travel.

The PDAC page we read does not yet give daily hours, so build your final-day plans from the PDAC programme once it is published, not from a third-party listing.

Most delegates, whatever their sector, face the same four transport problems: the journey from Pearson, the walk or ride between the two venues and their hotel, the 5 pm crush on Front Street, and the early departure from Toronto on the Thursday. The rest of this guide takes them in order. If you also want a venue-level view, our Toronto Convention Centre events page explains the access points in more detail.

Which building is which, and how do you walk between them?

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre is in two parts. According to the venue's own Getting Here page, the North Building is at 255 Front Street West and the South Building is at 222 Bremner Boulevard. An indoor SkyWalk links Union Station to both buildings.

The routes in from the transit hubs are straightforward:

• From the UP Express platform at Union: go through the SkyWalk corridor, take the elevator or stairs to Lower Simcoe Street, then walk west on Front Street to the North Building entrance.
• From GO Transit: exit Union Station and walk west on Front Street to the North Building, or use the SkyWalk to reach either building.
• From the TTC: the subway's Line 1 stops at Union Station, from where you walk or use the SkyWalk.

The Fairmont Royal York is the other PDAC venue. It stands at 100 Front Street West, directly opposite Union Station, and delegates reach it by the same Union Station concourse. Because both venues are within a few hundred metres of Union, the most useful single fact for delegates is this: if you are staying in the downtown core, you can usually reach the convention without going outdoors at all. In March that is a real advantage.

Pearson to the convention centre: your options compared

Toronto Pearson (YYZ) is about 30 km from the convention centre. A road-network estimate (OSRM, free-flow, no traffic) is roughly 30 minutes. In the Sunday afternoon arrival wave, on the Gardiner on a weekday evening, or in a March snow squall, expect considerably longer.

The UP Express is a very good train. The UP Express site says it takes you from Pearson to downtown Toronto in 28 minutes, calling at Union, Bloor, Mount Dennis, Weston and Pearson. For a single traveller staying at a hotel near Union, the train is hard to beat for speed and price, and our own comparison, UP Express versus a private car from Pearson to Union, says so openly. You can check the current fare on the UP Express fares page.

The car comes into its own when the group is larger than two, when the luggage includes sample cases or posters, when the flight lands late on the Sunday, or when you are headed to a hotel off the Union axis. The transfer takes you from the terminal door to the hotel door, with no stairs and no transfer to the SkyWalk. Our Pearson to downtown Toronto page sets out the route, and the Union Station page covers pickups there.

Driving to the convention centre

If you or your driver arrive by road, the convention centre's directions are specific. From Pearson, the 401 or the QEW, take the highway to the Gardiner Expressway. For the North Building, exit at Spadina Avenue. For the South Building, exit at York Street. From Billy Bishop airport, head northwest on Eireann Quay, then follow Lake Shore Boulevard West and Bremner Boulevard.

Parking is available. The venue reports about 1,700 indoor spaces across the North and South garages. Parking is cashless, with cards and mobile payments accepted but not cash. Height limits are 1.9 m in the North garage and 2.0 m in the South, which rules out some SUVs and vans with roof racks. Anyone arriving in a tall vehicle should check before entering. Convention weeks fill garages early, so plan for a full lot.

For drop-offs, ask your driver to use the Front Street frontage for the North Building and Bremner Boulevard for the South, and agree a pickup point before the evening. The convention centre does not publish drop-off details on its Getting Here page, so confirm the day's arrangements with the venue or the PDAC programme.

Where delegates stay, and the PATH factor

Downtown hotels fall into two groups. The first sits within a short walk of Union Station and the convention centre, where Front Street and Bay Street hotels are connected to the underground PATH network. The Fairmont Royal York is the best-known example. The InterContinental Toronto Centre is on the same stretch of Front Street, at 225 Front Street West. For a delegate who has back-to-back meetings, being able to move between the venue, the hotel and a restaurant without a coat is valuable.

The second group is further out, in Yorkville, the Entertainment District, the waterfront or the suburbs, chosen because rooms elsewhere are cheaper or already sold out. Those delegates depend on cars and on the TTC, and are the ones who feel the 5 pm crush most. If you are in this group, our downtown Toronto hotel transfers page explains how transfers work between the airport, the hotel and the convention.

Whichever you pick, remember PDAC's own advice: you book directly with the hotel, and PDAC does not operate a housing bureau. Make the booking early and keep a copy of the confirmation, because convention week is when overbooking problems are least forgiving.

The 5 pm Front Street pickup crush

The convention day ends in a wave. Sessions finish, exhibitors close their booths and receptions begin across the downtown core, and a large crowd leaves the centre at once and looks for a ride. The result is the same each year: a long queue for taxis, ride-hail apps that surge and cars that cannot reach the pickup point.

Three habits avoid most of it.

1. Decide the pickup point in advance. Pick a street corner or hotel entrance off the main frontage. A pickup one block away, agreed with the driver, is faster than the one in front of the doors.
2. Leave earlier or later. The wave is strongest in the late afternoon, so leaving a little before or after the rush avoids the worst of it.
3. Use the PATH. Walking through the underground network to a hotel lobby and being picked up there is often quicker than a kerbside pickup on Front Street.

A chauffeur who has your timetable and tracks your calendar does most of this for you. For executives with a schedule of dinners and receptions, a car booked for the evening by the hour is often the simplest way to avoid standing at a kerb in March. See our trade show transportation page for how hourly cars work.

Reserve your car

Early departures from Pearson on Thursday

The convention ends on Wednesday evening, and the Thursday morning departure wave is often the most stressful part of the trip. Many delegates are heading to western Canada, the United States, Australia or Europe, with early flights, and the roads and the airport are both busy.

Work back from your flight. For an international flight, allow time for check-in, security and any border step, plus the drive of about 30 km. A 7:00 am international departure means a pickup around 3:00 to 3:30 am, which is quiet on the roads but needs a firm booking. For US flights, Pearson operates US preclearance, so the American border inspection happens before you board; leave extra time for that. Our guide to how early to arrive for security at Pearson explains the timing in detail, and the Toronto Pearson page covers terminals and pickup points.

If your flight leaves in the afternoon, the best answer is usually an early check-out, a car at a fixed time and a margin for the Gardiner. In March, snow can slow the highways at short notice, so a margin is worth more than a tight schedule.

Practical tips for a delegate week

• Layers and an indoor route. Use the SkyWalk and PATH where you can. Carry gloves for the walks outside.
• Charge before the evening. A phone at 10 percent is a poor tool for coordinating pickups.
• Know your pickup address. Write down the exact entrance or hotel lobby where the driver will meet you.
• Keep spare time on the last day. The queues for the airport shuttle and taxis are longest on the Thursday.
• Share the schedule. If you travel with colleagues, one shared list of flights and hotel names avoids three separate cars for one team.

For a wider look at what we do in the city, see the Toronto hub, and for other conferences, the events hub.