It's Officially Pride Month— Here Are 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Pride In Canada

"Look 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.

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While Canada is now thought of as an accepting place, history shows us that the path to where we are now was paved with arrests, demonstrations, and determination. 

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.

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In 1971, about 100 people gathered in Ottawa for what was considered the first gay rights protest in Canadian history. Canada had just decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults two years earlier.

2. The first coordinated Pride celebrations happened during Pride Week in 1973— which included events in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.

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People held picnics, dances, and film screenings. This is considered the start of Pride celebrations in Canada!

3. Vanouver hosted its first ever "unofficial" Pride parade in 1978.

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While it wasn't until 1981 that the city made it official— Vancouver now hosts one of the biggest annual Pride parades in Canada.

4. Montreal held its first Pride march in 1979, which also marked the 10 year anniversary of Stonewall.

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Today, Montreal Pride is attended by millions and is now the one of the largest Pride celebrations in the francophone world.

5. A major tipping point for LGBTQ2SIA+ rights in Canada was Operation Soap — when Toronto police raided bathhouses and arrested more than 300 people in 1981.

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The police violence during these raids sparked mass protests and marches— which is why the Bathhouse Raids are often known as the Canadian equivalent to New York's Stonewall Riots. 

6. The first documented lesbian march in Canada took place in Vancouver in 1981 where attendees shouted "Look over here, look over there, lesbians are everywhere!"

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Now, Dyke Marches are held across Canada as part of annual Pride festivities.

7. The term "two-spirit" was created at the Third Annual Inter-tribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference in Winnipeg in 1990.

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“Two-Spirit” is a term used within some Indigenous communities which encompasses sexual, spiritual and gender identity. Attributed to Elder Myra Laramee, it's a translation of the Anishinaabemowin term niizh manidoowag. You can check out more resources here! 

8. Toronto Pride — Canada's biggest Pride celebration — dates back to a “Gay Day Picnic” held in 1971.

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Over the years, larger events were organized, including in Toronto's "Village". But it took until 1991 for Toronto's city council to proclaim Pride Day for the first time.

9. Ontario legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, the first province to do so in Canada.

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That was during Pride Month in June 2003, and just days later then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced legislation to legalize same-sex marriage across Canada. It took until 2005, under another Liberal Prime Minister (Paul Martin) for an act to actually pass, making Canada the fourth country in the world to permit same-sex marriage.

10. Toronto Pride includes a large Trans March, but there was resistance to its inclusion at first.

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The Trans March was started in 2009 by Karah Mathiason, but Toronto Pride officials attempted to confine the march to smaller streets other than those included in the main Pride Parade. Marchers pushed past the barricades, ignored the rules and marched on anyway! 

11. In 2014, Toronto became the first city in North America to host WorldPride.

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Toronto bid and won as host city for 2014. It's estimated that 2 million people attended the festivities. That's a lot of Pride! 

12. As part of WorldPride, Toronto also hosted the International Asexuality Conference — the second ever to be held!

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It was the first of its kind in Canada.

13. In 2016, Black Lives Matter members halted the annual Pride Parade in Toronto, calling for commitments to address anti-Blackness at the event.

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The parade resumed when Pride Toronto executive director Mathieu Chantelois signed a document agreeing to change, including barring police from participation in the event. Debate over the provisions would go on for years, but the sit-in forever changed discussions about race at Toronto Pride.

14. Today, Pride celebrations take place all across Canada, even in tiny towns like Watson Lake in Yukon.

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This year, Yukon's Pride Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary! 

15. 2016 was the first year a Pride flag was raised at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

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It's been raised every year since.

Happy Pride Canada! Check out how we're celebrating Pride all month long over on BuzzFeed Canada's TikTok and Instagram.