The 1976 Summer Paralympic Games were held in Toronto, Canada, marking the first Paralympic Games outside Europe.
The event took place from 3 to 11 August 1976. It followed the 1972 Games in Heidelberg, West Germany, and attracted athletes from 40 countries. Toronto’s Games were also notable because athletes with visual impairments and athletes with spinal cord injuries competed together in the growing international event.
The Games were originally awarded to Toronto in 1970. A major issue before the event was funding, but the Canadian federal government and the province of Ontario helped make the competition possible. The programme included athletics, swimming, wheelchair basketball and several other sports.
Toronto is sometimes confused with Montreal, which hosted the 1976 Olympic Games. The Olympic and Paralympic events were held in different Canadian cities that year.