From Hanlan’s Point to citywide celebration: Pride Toronto reflects on 45 years of activism and change

This year, Pride Toronto is celebrating its 45th anniversary, marking four and a half decades of resistance, resilience and community. While today the festival draws millions of visitors from around the world, its roots lie in grassroots organizing and protest movements fighting for the rights of Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

The history of Pride Toronto dates back to the early 1970s. On Aug. 1, 1971, the Community Homophile Association of Toronto and Toronto Gay Action hosted a Gay Day Picnic at Hanlan’s Point. According to The ArQuives, around 300 people attended the gathering and used it to organize the “We Demand” march in Ottawa later that month, Canada’s first large-scale gay rights demonstration.

The following year, Toronto held its first Pride celebration when approximately 75 people marched to City Hall, demanding an end to discrimination in Canada’s laws, workplaces and everyday life.

A major turning point came on Feb. 5, 1981, when Toronto police raided four bathhouses on Yonge Street, arresting more than 300 men under bawdy house laws in what was then the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. The raids sparked immediate demonstrations, with thousands gathering to take to the streets in protest. Those demonstrations reinforced Pride’s roots in resistance and direct action.

From that point onward, annual Pride marches became more organized and consistent. In 1985, a coalition of community groups formally established Pride as an organization. It was later incorporated as Pride Toronto in 1995. Throughout the 1990s, the event continued to grow, balancing its identity as both a political protest and a celebration of Queer joy and community.

Another milestone came in 2003, when Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to legalize same-sex marriage through a court ruling. The decision marked one of the movement’s most significant victories and reflected decades of advocacy by 2SLGBTQIA+ activists. As Pride continued to grow throughout the early 2000s, support from the City of Toronto and corporate sponsors helped transform it into one of the largest Pride festivals in North America and a major fixture of the city’s summer calendar.

Kojo Modeste: Reflecting on 45 years of Pride

For Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste, that evolution reflects both how far the movement has come and why Pride’s activist roots remain just as important today. Modeste enjoys telling the story of Pride Toronto, which was born from 2SLGBTQIA+ communities demanding equality. 

“Folks coming together [to] say enough is enough, this led to the birth of Pride,” Modeste told Queer & Now.

2026 Pride Parade

Modeste shared that this year’s Pride Parade, set for June 28, will also serve as a reflection on the movement’s past while celebrating milestones that have shaped Toronto’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Following the parade’s dignitaries, a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando will lead a tribute to the 49 people who were killed in what remains the deadliest attack on the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in modern U.S. history. Their portraits and names will follow in remembrance.

“All 49 innocent lives that were taken will be carried to remind the world of what had happened 10 years ago,” Modeste explained. 

For Modeste, the anniversary celebrations extend beyond Pride Toronto itself. This year’s festival will also recognize the 20th anniversary of Rainbow Railroad and the 50th anniversary of The 519, two organizations that have played significant roles in supporting LGBTQ+ communities in Canada and abroad.

“So this, these are just some highlights that folks—we really want folks to understand that this work is so important, but we want to make sure that we highlight it not just outside of the festival, including during the festival,” he said.

Additionally, the celebrations will honour the 25th anniversary of Canada’s first-same sex marriage, which happened on Jan. 14, 2001, at Toronto’s Metropolitan Community Church. This helped pave Canada’s path toward marriage equality. Same-sex marriage was first legalized in Ontario and British Columbia in 2003, while the Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38) later came into effect on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

To honour that legacy, this year’s Pride Parade will feature 25 couples renewing their commitments in a ceremony held in partnership with faith leaders before joining the parade together. Modeste said the celebration is intended to highlight the progress the community has made while reminding people of the activism that made those victories possible.

Pride Toronto: The next 45 years

Born in Grenada, where same-sex intimacy remains criminalized, Modeste said Toronto’s history demonstrates what communities can accomplish when they organize together.

“It has moved from just a protest, it has moved from just wanting to be recognized to also an opportunity to celebrate the gains that we have made,” Modeste said.

The executive director says that today, Pride represents far more than a festival.

“45 years later, as a Black Queer man, Pride means representation, Pride means celebration, Pride means being your authentic self,” Modeste explained. “Pride means not giving up. Pride means fighting for our rights.”

While Pride has become one of Toronto’s biggest celebrations, Modeste believes the movement’s work is far from over, particularly as LGBTQ+ rights face renewed challenges around the world.

“Especially today, when we see what is happening south of the border, when we see what is happening globally with the rollback of rights that have been gained, Pride is also a reminder that we need to continue to do what we did 45 years ago,” they explained. “It is not [the] time to take our eyes off the clock.”