The federal government says it has earmarked $1.5 million for security at Pride organizations’ events across the country.
The Trudeau government announced on June 5 that the money will serve as an “emergency fund” for LGBTQ community organizations to cover the “increasing security costs” at their Pride events.
The funding matches a request by Fierté Canada Pride, a national umbrella group that says it will distribute the money to applicable local committees.
“[The money] will support increased infrastructure costs, emergency and security related costs, and costs for community safety such as volunteer training,” said the group in a news release that followed the announcement by Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien on June 5.
The amount will also be used for expenses such as vehicle and crowd control, barricades, and fees for paid duty police or private security.
Fierté Canada Pride said in their release there were “rising incidents of hate targeting 2SLGBTQIA+ communities” over the last few years which led to the creation of the fund.
On June 2, 2021, the Liberal government announced the launch of “Pride Season”—an expansion from previous years’ “Pride Month” marked in June.
In August 2022, the federal government said it would spend $100 million over five years to implement its 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan in support of involved communities across Canada.
In Budget 2023, the federal government allocated $49.5 million to Public Safety Canada to build measures to “confront hate in all its forms, including hate faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
