" search over here , look over there , lesbians are everywhere ! "
Pride has a long history in Canada, starting with grassroots protests and events that have evolved into the large celebrations we have today.
Prep yourself for Pride Month by taking a look at some facts about Pride in Canada that you might not have known!
1.The history of Pride in Canada is just as much about protest as celebration. The first gay rights protest took place in Ottawa over 50 years ago.
2.The firstcoordinated Pride celebrationshappened during Pride Week in 1973— which included events in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
3.Vanouver hosted its first ever"unofficial" Pride paradein 1978.
4.Montreal held its firstPride march in 1979, which also marked the 10 year anniversary of Stonewall.
5.A major tipping point for LGBTQ2SIA+ rights in Canada wasOperation Soap— when Toronto police raided bathhouses and arrested more than 300 people in 1981.
6.Thefirst documented lesbian marchin Canada took place in Vancouver in 1981 where attendees shouted “Look over here, look over there, lesbians are everywhere!”
7.The term “two-spirit"was createdat the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference in Winnipeg in 1990.
8.Toronto Pride — Canada’s biggest Pride celebration — dates back to a “Gay Day Picnic”held in 1971.
9.Ontariolegalized same-sex marriagein 2003, the first province to do so in Canada.
10.Toronto Pride includes a large Trans March, but there was resistance to its inclusion at first.
11.In 2014, Toronto became the first city in North America to host WorldPride.
12.As part of WorldPride, Toronto also hosted the International Asexuality Conference —the second ever to be held!
13.In 2016, Black Lives Matter membershaltedthe annual Pride Parade in Toronto, calling for commitments to address anti-Blackness at the event.
14.Today, Pride celebrations take place all across Canada, even in tiny towns like Watson Lake in Yukon.
15.2016 was the first yeara Pride flag was raised at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Happy Pride Canada! Check out how we’re celebrating Pride all month long over onBuzzFeed Canada’s TikTokandInstagram.
