Pride Montreal confident in the success of its festival despite recent dissensions

A few days before the launch of the festivities, Pride Montreal says he is convinced that his 19th edition will be successful, despite the criticisms of LGBTQ+ groups which recently turned his back.

The director general of the festival, Simon Gamache, does not hide it: tensions persist in the communities of sexual and gender diversity that the event wishes to bring together.

There are gender diversity. There are diversity of perspectives also that come with that, and that, it must be respectedhe explains.

In May, a dozen groups slammed the Montreal pride door, denouncing a organization that makes violence […] towards our communities.

These groups allegedly allegedly allegedly Toxic organizational culture reign within pride Montreal.

According to Simon Gamache, the Festival board of directors conducted an internal investigation following these accusations. This work would have revealed not a toxic internal culture, but rather an external climate d’intimidation.

We are afraid of doing our job. It is rather that, reality.

However, he salutes the initiative of certain groups, which have allied themselves to create their own pride festival, the Wild Pride. I find it great. Honestly, I find that the programming is very interestinghe said.

Held practically at the same time as the festival pride Montreal, from July 30 to August 18, this new event is intended Anti -colonial, anti -capitalist, but also more accessible, much less focused on alcohol and festivitiesexplains Samya Lemrini, one of the organizer and president of the board of directors of Helem Montreal.

Last year, this organization, which represents the LGBTQ+ Arabian -speaking communities of the metropolis, had notably asked, without success, in pride of Montreal to denounce the military interventions of Israel in Gaza, in addition to putting an end to its collaboration with the TD bank, its main partner.

There is too much dissonance between what Montreal priest advocates and our valuesadds Yara Coussa, also a member of the board of directors of the organization Helem Montréal.

Eternal dissensions?

At a press conference on the sidelines of an event to foam the 2025 programming of the Montreal Festival, Simon Gamache wanted to qualify the extent of the protest movement.

He claims that in January, Pride Montreal had 129 member groups, while today, he has 125. It is a sign, according to him, that a majority of groups from sexual and gender diversity continue to support the body.

The Director General also maintains that frictions and differences in vision have always existed within the groups LGBTQ+. Three distinct festivals would even have cohabited in Montreal for a few years.

One of the recurring points of dissension on which Montreal pride seems to camp its positions is that of funding.

The organization judges that the participation of governments and private companies is essential to the presentation of an event that attracts people from across the country and the international.

In addition, Pride Montreal is delighted to have practically lost any sponsors this year, unlike his Toronto during the Toronto, who lost this year the support of companies that were pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars to the event.

The promise of a security event

Furthermore, Pride Montreal promises to guarantee the safety of participants in the event, in a context where the voices of certain opponents of sexual diversity take a growing place in the public square.

We are probably the festival where there is the most security, given its magnitude and the customers that are desserted which is [composée] of marginalized peoplesupports Mr. Gamache.

Pride Montreal says it hire more than 300 people and recruit more than 400 volunteers to provide reception and security during the traditional parade scheduled for August 10.

In 2022, the lack of security personnel and volunteers along the route had forced the organization to cancel the parade at only a few hours of notice.

Last year, the Montreal pride parade was disrupted by Propalestinian demonstrators, forcing its interruption for a while and its trajectory.

With information from Colin Côté-Paulette and Mélissa François, CBC