Despite a rainy forecast, thousands of people marched along Toronto’s Yonge Street for the 35th annual Pride Parade on Sunday afternoon.

A long list of notable Canadian figures took part in Sunday’s festivities, including federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown and Toronto Mayor John Tory.

John Tory

“This is a great celebration of how we live in this city,” Tory said Sunday. “There’s people from every corner of this community -- every colour, every race, every religion.

“I think we’ve come to realize that when you live together and you accept everybody, you can build a much better place.”

The Toronto mayor also had a message for members of the LGBTQ community in other parts of the world who face discrimination and marginalization.

“You have friends here in Canada who will support you,” he said. “Keep at it and don’t lose faith. It was a struggle here in North America too.”

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also attended the event and lauded the continued LGBTQ progress.

“This is a really important day for people who want to feel included,” she said. “We’ve moved very quickly in our lifetime to a place where we can feel safe to be at a parade like this.”

David Furnish, husband of Sir Elton John, was the parade’s grand marshal this year. Furnish was raised in Toronto’s east end.

"It's a real honour to be asked and to come back to my home city where I grew up and to see so much positive change,” Furnish told the Canadian Press.

Furnish, 52, said he felt “overwhelmed by how it's changed" since his days growing up in Toronto.

Organizers estimate Pride events attracted about one million people throughout the 10-day festival.

With files from the Canadian Press