Drag queens, leather-clad gay men, people in banana costumes waving trans flags, couples draped in rainbows and community organizers flooded downtown Montreal Sunday as the city held its annual Pride parade.
This year’s theme is We Are the Rainbow, and thousands of people marched along the two-and-a-half-kilometre route from the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard and Metcalfe Street to the heart of the Village under the high sun.
Sexual health non-profits, a gay choir, a queer line dancing group, organizations helping queer refugees, legal aid clinics and activists participated in the parade.
While the atmosphere was festive, several floats displayed banners reminding attendees that the fight for gay and trans rights is far from over. People held banners saying “protect trans kids” and “when LGBTQ rights go backward, society goes backward.”
For Iris De Lys, it’s important to show up at Pride because it’s a reminder that the community has “been here forever” and that it’s “not going anywhere.”
“No matter how they think, what they want to do with the politics, we’ll still be there and they cannot erase us,” she said.
Nina Mora, who attends Pride events almost every year, came to the parade with her girlfriend. She said it’s fun to be surrounded by other people in the community.
“It’s pretty alive, like everyone’s very present today,” she said.
At 2:15 p.m., the parade came to a standstill to observe a minute of silence commemorating all those who died of HIV/AIDS and homophobic attacks.
A contingent of pro-Palestinian marchers used this time to blast the sound of fighter planes through loudspeakers and lie on the ground, some with red paint on their chests, to draw attention to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Protesters make voices heard
But not everyone in Montreal’s queer community felt festive. On Saturday night, the Pink Bloc — an anti-capitalist 2SLGBTQ+ collective — held a “Rad Pride” protest.
Protesters danced to Abba songs, chanted slogans and held signs saying “no cops at Pride” and “no pride in genocide,” criticizing Fierté Montréal corporate sponsors like TD Bank, which has several investments in weapon manufacturing companies used by Israel.
The protest ended with two arrests and riot cops using tear gas on the crowd. Police also opened an investigation after shop windows on Ste-Catherine Street were smashed.
Other community organizations Helem, Mubaadarat and Sapphix said they tried to collaborate with Fierté Montréal organizers and launched a petition pressuring the festival to take an anti-Zionist stance and end its TD sponsorship, among other demands.
The groups nonetheless participated in the march, wearing white and carrying Palestinian flags.
They marched with a trans contingent and chanted “Pride is a protest,” and “we won’t be silenced, stop the violence.”
People on the street raised their fists and chanted “free Palestine” as the contingent went by.