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Prime Minister Mark Carney raised a Pride flag on Parliament Hill Tuesday to kick off a month-long celebration of sexual and gender diversity while saying there’s a brewing “backlash” to these sorts of celebrations and federal money is needed to help make 2SLGBTQ+ parades safe this year.
Speaking to a couple hundred MPs, senators, political staffers, community activists and others gathered on Parliament Hill for the occasion, Carney said there’s been progress in the struggle for equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans people but the community is still in a sometimes “precarious” position.
“One of the strengths of Canada is recognizing that people can be who they want to be and love who they want to love. The federal government — we are the defenders of those rights,” Carney said.
“Unfortunately, around the world, there’s a backlash struggling against the progress that has been made. In this time, Canada will always stand up for the vulnerable and the equal rights we cherish. We can take pride in how far we’ve come but we should also recognize there’s far more to do.”
Statistics Canada data suggests there’s been a sizable uptick in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation. According to the latest figures, there were 860 such police-reported hate crimes in 2023 — a 69 per cent spike from the year before — with gays and lesbians the most likely targets.
These police-reported crimes were most likely to occur in June — Pride month — according to Statistics Canada. There were 224 such incidents that month in 2023, about four times higher than the average (58 incidents) for the other months of the year.
To that end, Carney said the federal government is making money available to Fierté Canada Pride, the organization that represents local groups who put on 2SLGBTQ+ festivals across the country, to make them safer with hateful incidents a more common occurrence than years’ past.
About $1.5 million in federal funds will be used to help Pride organizers address the rising cost of safety and insurance for these events, according to Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and supported in their community,” Valdez said.
As some countries, including the U.S., try to roll back trans rights in particular, Carney said Canada will “stand up for rights around the world.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney helped raise the Pride flag at a ceremony outside the House of Commons on Tuesday. He said Canada is a place where people can be who they want to be, and love who they want to love, adding the federal government is a defender of those rights.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive actions, including an order that the federal government there recognize only two sexes — male and female — stop the promotion of “gender ideology” and instruct schools to stop helping kids with gender transition.
Pride Toronto, which stages one of the largest such festivals in the world, has lost some major corporate sponsors this year, including from American businesses like Google and Home Depot.
The group’s executive director has said the loss of support could be connected to an executive order issued by Trump in January that ordered an end to all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the U.S. government.
Those companies may be removing themselves from public support of 2SLGBTQ+ organizations because they fear losing U.S. government support, Pride Toronto has said.
Pride Toronto has also faced controversy over its use of federal funding — it received taxpayer money for certain projects but it couldn’t show they were ever completed, an audit found — and for its past statements about the Gaza war, which one Jewish group called a “betrayal.”