Black Lives Matter protest pride

Black Lives Matter protests at Toronto Pride Parade

Black Lives Matter staged a protest at the Pride Parade, halting the progression for roughly 30 minutes at Yonge and Carlton streets. The sit-in was held to mark BLM's claim that "Pride Toronto has shown little honour to the Black trans and queer communities, and other marginalized communities."

black lives matter protest pride

A statement of demands further stated that "Pride has threatened the existence of community spaces. This includes the near extinction of the BQY stage (Black Queer Youth), continued threats to Blockorama's autonomy, removal of other community stages (e.g. South Asian stage), and a lack of commitment and priority to the various spaces that represent diverse queer and Trans communities."

black lives matter protest pride

The parade eventually continued after Pride Executive Director Mathieu Chantelois met with protesters and signed a document agreeing to their demands. Some of the noteworthy stipulations include a ban on police floats in next year's parade, reinstatement of community stages, and a town hall meeting with marginalized groups to ensure their representation in Pride Toronto.

Photos by Hector Vasquez.


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Doug Ford just got even tougher on Ontario bike lanes with new measures

Toronto's $27 billion Ontario Line just crossed its biggest construction milestone so far

Rare Canadian gold coin sells for over $1.5 million

Toronto ranked among the top 100 best cities in the world for 2025

A full list of all the items included in Canada's holiday GST cut

Liquid soap sold at stores across Canada recalled due to contamination

Canadians to get GST cut on groceries and new $250 rebate ahead of holidays

Snow is finally coming to southern Ontario and here's when it will hit