TORONTO — Balloons, confetti and bubbles filled the air as thousands of people gathered in downtown Toronto on Sunday for one of Canada’s largest annual Pride celebrations, although the event ended abruptly as it was about to end after a protest blocked the road.
Toronto’s Pride Parade marked the culmination of a month of events celebrating the city’s LGBTQ+ community, with some participants calling the event a symbol of friendship.
“It gets better every year, it multiplies, we love each other,” rejoiced Stephen Storey, who celebrated his 22nd Pride in Toronto.
But late in the afternoon, as the parade was winding down, Toronto police posted on social media that a protest during the parade had caused a disturbance and the parade had been “temporarily suspended.”
The protesters sat in the middle of Yonge Street, one group flying a Palestinian flag, others holding banners that read “Pride Stands with Genocide” and “Stop Pinkwashing.”
Pride Toronto later posted on X that the remainder of the parade had been cancelled. The post offered no reason, but apologized for the inconvenience and said the street fair and stages were still operating.
In an emailed statement, Pride Toronto said it respects people’s right to protest but made the decision “out of our commitment to public safety.”
“We empathize with those who were eager to participate and regret any inconvenience caused by this decision,” Pride Toronto’s statement said.
Toronto Police Service (TPS) said no arrests have been made in connection with the protest. Spokesperson Laurie McCann said in an email that the decision to cancel the event was made solely by Pride Toronto, without any involvement from police.
“Toronto Police have been working closely with Pride Toronto in preparation for this weekend. Pride Toronto advised TPS prior to Sunday that they did not want officers to intervene if protesters disrupted the parade. We respected their request,” McCann wrote.
This year’s Pride events in Toronto featured many LGBTQ+ newcomers celebrating their first Pride in Canada, including Zhya Aramiy, who moved to Toronto last year after fleeing persecution due to her sexual orientation in Iraq.
“The feeling I have here, it makes me feel at home,” Aramiy said. “It just makes me feel like all these people around me, they’re with me and they’re affirming with me, they’re supporting me.”
The parade began at Bloor and Church streets with over 250 groups marching together along Yonge Street to Nathan Phillips Square.
The groups included LGBTQ+ organizations such as the African Refugee Center and Toronto Pflag, all waving pride flags and cheering alongside the crowd.
A Toronto fire truck also traveled the parade route, draped in Pride flags and with rainbow balloons pinned to its roof.
While the parade was still underway, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow rode in on a float, donning a rainbow feather boa and blowing kisses to the crowd.
At one point during the parade, the clouds darkened and a light rain fell briefly, but that didn’t stop participants from dancing and smiling, marching to the sound of drums and whistles in colorful outfits.
The theme of this year’s parade was “Be,” which Pride Toronto called “a resounding statement that says, ‘We are here and always will be.’
