Facing DEI backlash, Canada’s Pride festivals need $3 million from Ottawa
Many corporate sponsors dropped out after Donald Trump was elected in 2024
With three months to go before Pride celebrations kick off across Canada, the organizers of 200 festivals are asking Ottawa for $3 million per year to make up for a loss of corporate sponsors.
Pride events were hit hard by the backlash against DEI initiatives that followed the election of US President Donald Trump in late 2024. Pride Toronto saw sponsors Google, Home Depot, Nissan and Clorox all withdraw their support in advance of the June 2025 celebrations, leaving the festival with a $900,000 shortfall.
Related: Two more corporate sponsors have abandoned Pride Toronto—and it’s giving anti-DEI
The leaders of Pride festivals across Canada are now asking the federal government to provide them with a total of $9 million in funding over three years, which they say would allow them to continue operations, reports the Toronto Star. Another reason cited for the funding ask: tariffs, which the festival leaders said had made sponsors less generous with their donations (just one more gift from the US president).
Related: Cue the outrage—Mayor Olivia Chow wants Toronto to support Pride by boycotting Home Depot
The new funding would come in addition to $1.5 million the federal government has already earmarked for security measures at Pride parades, which the organizers say is insufficient given a recent uptick in violent threats against their festivals.
Last year’s Pride festivities in Toronto proceeded as usual despite the organization’s funding woes, but organizers warned that if new cash sources were not secured, the 2026 event would look a lot smaller. With this latest request, the fate of this year’s celebrations could be in Ottawa’s hands.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
