Hundreds of thousands celebrate return of Toronto Pride parade to downtown streets
The streets of downtown Toronto were awash with colour, music and smiles Sunday as the city's Pride parade returned for the first time in two years.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined Yonge Street on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the parade's comeback after it was sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. The procession began at 2 p.m. on the corner of Bloor and Church streets.
Colourful floats – some blasting music to energize the crowd -- dancers, drag queens and other marchers waving rainbow flags and carrying signs about love and acceptance slowly walked the route and made their way to Yonge-Dundas Square, where the parade culminated.
Among those who marched include a group who had never walked at a Pride parade until Sunday, community organizations, labour unions, emergency services, sports teams and dignitaries. Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Dr. Lady Phyll, was the parade's international grand marshal.
One of the dignitaries at the parade was Toronto Mayor John Tory, who marched with other members of city council.
He said it was good that city events like Pride were back following a long pause.
"It's so good at a time when rights are being diminished elsewhere in the world that we're able to celebrate the fact that we've made such progress. We've got lots to do. But, I think we're happy respecting each other and embracing each other," Tory said. "And so I think that's what pride is all about."
Tory was also with his grandchild Isabel who came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier, the two attended a Pride breakfast hosted by PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
"It's so important that kids and adults, everybody in Toronto, feel they can be who they are, and that they can celebrate who they are, and that we celebrate them. And that is the essence of what Toronto is all about. And we've got to keep it that way. So I was proud to have Isabel with me today," Tory said.
People march in the Pride parade marking the return of in-person festivities for the annual LGBTQ celebration, in Toronto, Sunday, June 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima
CP24 spoke with dozens of people at the parade, several of whom were their first time at a Pride parade, and all of them were happy to see it back and everyone having a good time. Some of them were from other countries, including the U.S., Israel and Nicaragua.
"I've never been around this many like queer people at once. And it just makes me feel really at home and stuff. So I like it a lot," said one reveler, who moved to Toronto from the United Kingdom. "It feels like a big old family."
When one paradegoer was asked what Pride means to him, he said it is about accepting and expressing who you are and not caring what others think.
"It feels nice to know that there's more than just you and a couple of your friends and just feels nice that there's even like straight people, allies that all support you because throughout your day, obviously there's gonna be people that don't, so it's nice to see everyone celebrating it," he said.
Crowds of people watch the Pride parade, marking the return of in-person festivities for the annual LGBTQ celebration, in Toronto, Sunday, June 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima
Pride Toronto said it was expecting approximately 1.8 million on Sunday.
Ahead of the weekend, organizers said the festival was working with private security firms to conduct checks at designated spaces.
They say the extra measures are necessary given a reported increase in anti-LGBTQ incidents this month.
- With files from Beatrice Vaisman, Shanelle Kaul and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.