Pierre Poirierbre is the only federal party leader whose staff will not reveal whether he plans to take part in any Pride events this summer.
Officials for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May have all confirmed they will be attending various Pride events.
In response to the same question, Poirievre’s office said the party’s deputy leader, Melissa Lanzmann, attended the Pride flag-raising ceremony at Parliament House earlier this month.
Two Spirit activist Jordan Ames Sinclair told attendees at the June 3 ceremony that people should pay attention.
“I think it’s worth noting that we’re looking at the people who are not here and the leaders who are not prioritizing the betterment of our community,” Ames-Sinclair said.
Poirievre has not publicly celebrated Pride Month while traveling around the country to meet with community groups in June, though he has attended other events in the meantime, including St. Jean-Baptiste Day, Italian Heritage Month and the Toronto Christian Music Festival.
LGBTQ+ groups across North America celebrate Pride Month in June, while festivals and parades are held in various Canadian cities throughout the summer.
Pride Month is celebrated annually in June on the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which were sparked by police raids on gay clubs.
Singh’s office confirmed that he will be taking part in this weekend’s Pride parade in Toronto, a tradition that dates back to his days as a provincial member of parliament.
He also plans to walk in Montreal’s Pride parade in August. Singh was unable to attend the flag-raising ceremony at Parliament Hill due to scheduling conflicts, but his office said he attended a recent Pride flag-raising ceremony in Winnipeg.
Trudeau’s office confirmed that the prime minister will attend summer Pride events across the country but did not provide further details.
A representative for Blanchett confirmed that he will also be attending the Pride event, without providing further details.
May has spoken about her plans to attend Pride events on her social media pages, and her staff confirmed Friday that she intends to attend Pride events in Victoria, Vancouver, Salt Spring Island, B.C., and Halifax.
Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada, said there has been a significant increase in hate crimes targeting people because of their sexual orientation since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
There were 491 hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2022, up 12 per cent from the previous peak recorded in 2021, according to a Statistics Canada report released this year.
Acts targeting race and sexual orientation also accounted for a large portion of the overall increase in hate crimes seen in 2022, according to the report.
“At a time when we’re seeing such a rise in hatred and violence against marginalized groups, I think it’s really important that we send a clear message that we have politicians who are going to not tolerate that,” Kennedy said. “We have politicians who are going to stand with them, who are going to stand with them, who are going to promote what true inclusion means.”
Kennedy said that at a time when gender rights are increasingly targeted by provincial policies, participating in Pride also sends a strong message that members of the LGBTQ+ community “are part of the broader Canadian fabric and society.”
Canada has not been immune to growing debates over issues such as which bathrooms people should be allowed to use and whether children should be able to change their names or pronouns without parental advice.
Conservative premiers in Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick have all introduced new policies in recent months requiring schools to notify parents if transgender or non-binary students want to be known by their preferred name and pronouns.
In Saskatchewan, after the policy was challenged in court, the government used a rare “notwithstanding clause” — a rare measure that allows governments to revoke certain charter rights for five years — to implement the law.
In response, Saskatchewan Party politicians have been banned from participating in parades by Pride parade organizers in Regina, Saskatoon and elsewhere in the province.
In Alberta, Premier Daniel Smith has introduced a controversial plan to prevent young people from receiving gender-related treatments such as hormones and puberty-suppressing drugs, a policy backed by Premier Poirievre.
In February, Poirierbre said children should be protected from making “adult decisions” until they reach adulthood.
Opinion polls have shown Canadians divided on the issue, and some protests have been violent.
“People are feeling emboldened to speak out more fiercely on some of these issues,” Kennedy said.
“I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there. I think the queer community, and particularly the transgender community, is being scapegoated for political gain and political advantage.”
