The 2026 Canadian National Exhibition runs August 21 to September 7 at Exhibition Place. If you’re bringing kids, the catch is that the free kids’ passes have to be downloaded in advance. In 2026 the deadline was August 20, and there is no way to get them at the gate on the day.
Quick answer
Kids 13 and under get into the CNE grounds free. Children 4 and under need no ticket at all. Kids 5 to 13 use a free Kids’ Pass, or a School Kids Pass through their school board, and both must be downloaded in advance rather than picked up at the gate. In 2026 the download deadline was August 20, and the fair runs to September 7.
Key takeaways
- Kids 4 and under get into the 2026 CNE free, no ticket needed, no download required.
- Kids 5 to 13 get in free with a Kids’ Pass, up to 10 per person from theex.com/tickets: grounds admission plus all shows and exhibits on one day, rides not included.
- A separate School Kids Pass exists for GTA and wider-region school boards, downloaded from theex.com/school-tickets by selecting your board. Same benefit, no stated limit on how many you can download.
- Both free-kids programs have the same deadline: download by August 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM. There is no day-of option at the gate.
- Got a ticket to a concert at the RBC Amphitheatre or an event at BMO Field during the CNE run? It includes CNE grounds admission that day.
- Guests with disabilities get 50% off admission by self-declaring at the gate (in person only). A support person gets in free with an Access 2 Card.
- Regular advance admission for all ages is $25.11. A Ride All Day Pass is $51.66. Buy those only if you actually want rides.
Kids 4 and under: free, no ticket at all
This one requires nothing from you. Children 4 years old and younger walk into the CNE free, no pass, no download, no line at a kiosk. It’s built into the regular admission pricing, not a separate program.
Kids 5 to 13: the Kids’ Pass
For the 5 to 13 age range, the CNE runs a free Kids’ Pass. It covers grounds admission and access to every show and exhibit, on any one day of your choosing during the run of the fair. Rides are not part of it, that’s the trade-off for it being free.
- Where to get it: theex.com/tickets, under Special Ticket Offers.
- How many: up to 10 free Kids’ Passes can be downloaded per person.
- Deadline: August 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM. After that, downloads close.
- No day-of option. This has to be downloaded ahead of your visit, not picked up at the gate.
The other free pass: the School Kids Pass
Here’s the part that catches parents off guard, because it lives on a completely separate page and most people never find it. Alongside the general Kids’ Pass, the CNE also runs a School Kids Pass, distributed through school boards across the GTA and the wider region.
It works differently. Instead of a personal download portal, theex.com/school-tickets asks you to select your child’s school board from a list, and hands you a single downloadable pass image tied to that board. The benefit is the same as the general Kids’ Pass: grounds admission, access to all shows and exhibits, on one day, rides not included. The deadline is the same too: August 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
What’s genuinely different is the quantity rule. The general Kids’ Pass page says outright that you can download up to 10 per person. The School Kids Pass page, and the terms and conditions that cover it, don’t state any limit at all, it’s simply a pass image for your board, downloaded once. Take that as what it is rather than reading more into it: no cap is stated, which is not the same as confirming there isn’t one. If you’re trying to get passes for a larger group, that distinction is worth knowing before you assume you’ve hit a wall on the general page and give up.
Which school boards are included
The dropdown covers most public and Catholic boards across the Greater Toronto Area and into the surrounding region, plus a French-language stream and a private-school option. Here’s the full list, grouped by which pass code it maps to:
| Pass code | School boards it covers |
|---|---|
| 11B: English public, Toronto | Toronto District School Board |
| 11C: English Catholic, Toronto | Toronto Catholic District School Board |
| 11D: English public, GTA | Durham District School Board, Peel District School Board, York Region District School Board |
| 11E: English Catholic, GTA | Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Durham Catholic District School Board, York Catholic District School Board |
| 11F: English public, wider region | Avon Maitland District Public Board, Grand Erie Public Board, Hamilton Wentworth Public School Board, Niagara District School Board, Penetanguishine Protestant Separate School Board, Simcoe County District School Board, Trillium Lakelands School Board |
| 11G: English Catholic, wider region | Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, Hamilton Wentworth Catholic School Board, London District Catholic School Board, Niagara Catholic School Board, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic, Waterloo Catholic School Board, Wellington Catholic School Board |
| 11H: French Catholic | Conseil Scolaire Catholic MonAvenir, Conseil Scolaire Catholic Providence |
| 11I: Private schools | Private School Boards |
Don’t see your board on the list? The page also has an “Other” option that issues its own pass, so it’s worth checking there before assuming your family isn’t covered.
Other ways to get in free or discounted
The Kids’ Pass and School Kids Pass cover the two biggest groups, but they’re not the only routes to free or cheaper admission.
- RBC Amphitheatre or BMO Field ticket holders: if you’re going to a concert or another event at either venue during the CNE run, your event ticket gets you onto the CNE grounds that same day at no extra cost. This is confirmed directly on theex.com’s official FAQ.
- Access 2 Card: if a guest with a disability needs a support person to enjoy their visit, that support person is admitted free on presentation of a valid Access 2 Card.
- Self-declared disability discount: guests with disabilities get 50% off regular CNE admission by self-declaring to gate staff. This one only works in person at the gate, it isn’t available when buying online.
One thing that didn’t make this list: a lunchtime admission-refund promotion sometimes called EXcelunch has run in past years, but as of writing, theex.com has nothing confirming it for 2026. If you’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere, treat it as unconfirmed and check officially before planning around it.
Should you buy a ride pass too?
Neither free option includes rides. If your child is past the age where the midway is optional, that’s the one cost you can’t get around. Advance regular admission (all ages) is $25.11, and a Ride All Day Pass is $51.66. Both of those are also only available at that price until August 20, the same deadline as the free kids’ passes, so it’s worth deciding on your whole visit in one sitting rather than coming back to it.
The bottom line
Between the general Kids’ Pass and the School Kids Pass, there’s genuinely no reason for a Toronto family to pay for a child 13 or under to get into the CNE grounds. The only thing that trips people up is the deadline: download whichever pass applies to you by August 20 at 11:59 PM, because there’s no way to get it at the gate on the day.
Looking for more no-cost outings before summer ends? Here’s 11 free things to do with a baby in Toronto this summer.
And if you’re mapping out the rest of the summer, the Canada Strong Pass covers free entry to Toronto and Ontario museums, Parks Canada sites, and VIA Rail.
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