Victoria gears up for Pride parade amid escalating anti-LGBTQ tensions

Community leaders and politicians are rallying for inclusivity and tolerance amidst a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ hate on Vancouver Island in the lead-up to the annual Pride parade in Victoria on Sunday.

Having debuted in 1981, the event is expected to draw 40,000 participants from across the province and beyond.

However, the festivities have been marred by vandalism targeting LGBTQ-friendly signs and landmarks in various municipalities within the Capital Regional District.

It all began on June 1, less than 24 hours after five Pride Month street banners set up by the City of Langford, about 14 kilometres west of Victoria, were defaced with red spray paint.

On June 29, vandals completely covered the newly painted rainbow crosswalk outside the Pearkes Recreation Centre in Saanich, about 3 kilometres north of Victoria, with black paint, as reported by local police.

This Tuesday, a rainbow crosswalk near Bayside Middle School in Brentwood Bay, Central Saanich, was found defaced with homophobic slurs scrawled by vandals.

Ace Mann, a Victoria Pride Society vice president, expressed dismay at the persisting presence of anti-LGBTQ hate on Vancouver Island in 2023.

"Considering what kinds of threats are coming, [they] don't just mean physical, [but also] mental harassment," Mann said.

Socrates Diamant, owner of the LGBTQ-friendly Vicious Poodle pub in downtown Victoria, acknowledged that the city still maintains a strong culture of embracing diversity. 

Recent census data supports this claim, revealing that Victoria has the highest percentages of transgender (0.32 per cent) and non-binary (0.39 per cent) people among all municipalities in B.C.

Nonetheless, Diamant expresses concern over the increasing anti-LGBTQ sentiment from the United States seeping across the border.

"Scapegoating to draw attention away from failing policies … is a story as old as time, and we're really starting to see it happen again in the United States and in other countries around the world," he said.

Anti-LGBTQ groups don't reflect Canadian values: MP

In a groundbreaking report published last month, New York-based civil rights organizations, the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD, disclosed that at least 356 hate and extremist incidents targeted LGBTQ individuals across America between June 2022 and April 2023, including 40 cases of vandalism. 

These groups further revealed that nearly half of these incidents were perpetrated by individuals associated with extremist organizations.

WATCH | Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and harassment are on the rise in the U.S.

Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and harassment are on the rise in the U.S.

1 year ago

Duration 2:04

A first-of-its-kind study on anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in the United States has recorded at least 356 targeted assaults and acts of vandalism and harassment, with drag artists, educators, and medical professionals most likely to be targeted.

While there are no similar reports about anti-LGBTQ extremist groups in Canada, openly gay Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke MP Randall Garrison said these groups do not reflect Canadian values.

"What I've been doing is encouraging leaders at all levels and individual Canadians to speak out and say that these are not our values," Garrison said. "This is not who we are as a country, and we reject these attempts to disrupt otherwise lawful celebrations."

Sharing this sentiment, B.C. Premier David Eby decried the growing wave of anti-LGBTQ hatred on Vancouver Island during the Pride flag raising ceremony at the legislature on June 29.

"To see someone paint over a Pride sidewalk [in Saanich] is disgusting," he said.

Rev. Karen Dickey of James Bay United Church in Victoria expressed her anguish over the fact that certain Christian churches propagate hate towards LGBTQ people. However, she stressed that her church stands with and cares for the LGBTQ community.

Dickey believes that this year's Victoria Pride parade will be a celebration filled with joy and hope.

"We are here in the community among so many others who are really standing strong and creating spaces for people to be able to thrive and know their wholeness."

LISTEN | Rev. Karen Dickey speaks about community and belonging