Ottawa Makes Pride Gay Again

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Katherine Jameson Digby
Katherine Jameson Digby

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Ottawa Makes Pride Gay Again - Capital Pride 2026 report by Katherine Jameson Digby
Read time 5 min.

Reporting on the 2026 Capital Pride Parade

Ottawa’s Capital Pride Parade has been buffeted since 2020 by the predictable influences of the Global Omnicause.

Canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic restrictions, Pride returned in 2022 and 2023 heavily permeated with the gender ideology that was so ubiquitous online during the pandemic.

After the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas on Israel, the 2024 and 2025 Pride events became largely about the willingness of Capital Pride organizers to make statements related to support for Palestine.

In 2024, Capital Pride released a statement in advance of the parade, stating its solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

A photo from Capital Pride 2024: The photo is taken outside on a street, houses are visible in the background, the sky is blue. In the foreground, a large person is seen wearing a black surgical mask, a keffiyah and a "protect [drawing of a dagger] trans [drawing of a long stem rose] kids" t-shirt knotted at the front to expose the person's bare belly, holding a handmade sign high overhead with one raised arm. The sign is a light pink/cream rectangular poster with hand-lettered cursive text reading "transsexuals for a free Palestine," flanked by two hand-drawn watermelon slice illustrations (red flesh, green rind, black seeds). The person holding the sign has a visible tattoo on their upper arm, wears a black tank top and a camouflage baseball cap turned backward, and has a red-and-white checkered keffiyeh (a Palestinian scarf) draped around their neck and shoulders. Given the size of the person and their proportions, they're likely male. Below and around this central figure, a crowd of other attendees is visible. Several are holding small Palestinian flags (the black, white, green horizontal bands with a red triangle at the hoist). One nearby person wears a black-and-white checkered keffiyeh over their shoulders, they're also wearing a black surgical mask. Others in the crowd wear baseball caps and sunglasses.
From the 2024 Capital Pride Parade.
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/0tDEgGhKG6A

This position led many registered participants to withdraw, notably Mayor Sutcliffe and City of Ottawa staff, the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Liberal Party of Canada and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

2025 saw Capital Pride withdraw its previous statement of solidarity with Palestine, and this led the group Queers for Palestine to blockade the parade in protest.

The photo shows a line of people standing arm-in-arm on a city street during 2025 Capital Pride during the daytime. Nine people are visible, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a row facing the same direction. From left to right: a man partially cut off at the frame's edge wears a red-and-white patterned garment with a checkered keffiyeh-style scarf; next to him, a small woman in a floral top with colorful/red hair and sunglasses; a person wearing sunglasses and a black surgical mask; a woman in a tan baseball hat, sunglasses, and a dark floral shirt; a man (Fae Johnstone) with long reddish-brown hair wearing all black and holding small rainbow pride flags, with a transgender pride flag (light blue, pink, and white stripes) flag; a man in a light gray tank top and blue jeans with tattoos on his arms; a person with long black-and-blonde hair wearing a red cropped tank top and dark pants, with a crossbody bag; a woman in a wide-brimmed cream sun hat with floral trim and a green-and-black tropical-print maxi dress; and on the right, a man with short blond hair with the sides shaved and glasses wearing a lavender/light purple bra, with a transgender pride flag draped around their neck like a scarf, midriff visible, standing with a hand on his hip and a keffiyah wrapped around his hips. The background shows a large modern office/commercial building on a street corner, with a red-signed "CIBC Banking Centre" storefront at street level, large glass windows above, and a traffic signal pole with a "no right turn" sign and pedestrian crossing signal mounted on it. The street has brick/patterned paving. In the bottom corners of the image are overlaid graphics: a blue dragon/serpent-like circular logo in the bottom left, and a black rectangular watermark reading "@L3v1at4an" in the bottom right.
Prominent trans-identifying activist, Fae Johnstone, Executive Director of Queer Momentum, links arms at centre of the Queers for Palestine blockade of the 2025 Capital Pride Parade.
Image source: Leviathan @l3v1at4an

Given this background, it was anyone’s guess how the 2026 event would unfold.

This author and photographer met under somber skies on Parliament Hill at noon on Capital Pride Day, August 30, 2026. The forecast was for thunderstorms, evoking the possibility of a replay of an epically stormy 2026 Canada Day. We huddled in the corner of the gate to the West Block grounds, under the gothic gates of parliament, discussing the range of things that could go wrong in our attempts to report on the parade.

Just before 1:00 PM, we crossed to the southwest corner of Bank and Wellington to await the parade as it moved eastward and then turned the corner south. The sun came out and we soon heard the approaching dance tunes of a classic Pride Parade. Around the corner came all the colour, music and smiling faces that make Pride events irresistible, even for cynical gender critical reporters.

Lez Go marchers − Looking good, women!
Photos: Gender Dissent
In the foreground, a middle-aged woman with straight blonde hair stands in the middle of the street speaking into a black handheld microphone. She wears sunglasses, a purple T-shirt with "Lez Go" printed in white on the chest, a name badge on a lanyard reading "JEN," khaki capri pants, and white/gray sneakers. She has one hand raised near her side mid-gesture and a bracelet on her wrist. Her shadow is cast on the pavement behind her. Behind her is a small parade float/trailer (a U-Haul-branded flatbed trailer) decorated with a purple banner reading "Lez Go" alongside an illustration of stylized figures, and topped with large clusters of purple, pink, and white balloons. A blue patio umbrella and two black speaker/PA stacks are mounted on the float, along with a person standing on it wearing a dark T-shirt, red shorts, and a cap, arm raised. To the right, a blue Jeep Wrangler is part of the parade lineup, decorated with small rainbow and progress-pride flags on its roof rack and side mirrors, purple/lavender-colored decorative caps on its door hinges, and a tie-dye rainbow flag hanging from one window; passengers inside are waving. In the background, more parade spectators and participants are visible, along with a street lamp, a "no left turn" traffic sign, a red traffic light, and the spire of a Gothic-style building (consistent with the Parliament Hill area seen in earlier photos) partially visible above the crowd. Trees are visible at the upper right against a mostly overcast sky.
But just when you thought things might be moving in a positive direction for lesbians, you listen carefully to what the blonde lady with the mic is actually saying, then further despair when you learn that Lez Go is “Ottawa’s lesbian+ [lesbian-plus] events group that welcomes “women who identify as lesbian, trans, Two-Spirit, bi, poly, pan, and queer or questioning, including non-binary lesbians.”
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/X-VnsE56vF8

Capital Pride Parade 2026 looked corporate and polished, as if there had been some very strict guidelines on the messaging. There were hardly any hand-made signs visible, either in the crowd or in the actual parade. Nearly every group had a commercially produced vinyl banner with the corporate logo, followed by employees, volunteers and families in matching t-shirts. Groupings were largely by employer, and not by sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The two exceptions were Capital Pup Play and a contingent of Furries, both of these groups notably larger than other delegations.

City of Ottawa Council had their own float: Mayor Sutcliffe was aboard, with sightings of Councillors Troster, Leiper, Carr, Brockington, Johnstone, Luloff and Dudas. Councillor Kavanaugh was present at the parade, but not aboard the float.

A bald man wearing glasses standing on a decorated parade float, waving enthusiastically to the crowd with one arm raised high overhead and his mouth open as if cheering. He wears a white polo shirt, dark jeans, and a colorful rainbow-striped flower lei around his neck. He's holding a small rainbow progress pride flag in his other hand, down at his side. The float itself has a white lattice/trellis railing decorated with several small pride-related flags: rainbow flags, a Progress Pride flag (with the added chevron of black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes), and other pastel-striped pride flags. The float's side panel below the railing displays black-and-white and color photographic prints, including a close-up of a woman applying eye makeup and a street-scene photo of people holding a banner (partially legible text reading something like "...LORD IS MY SHEPHERD AND KNOWS I'M GAY"). Behind the man on the float, other parade participants are visible, including one person in colorful striped rainbow shorts/outfit holding a fan and pinwheels, and another in an orange outfit with a tutu-like skirt. To the right, a person in a pink patterned shirt and dark shorts stands near the float's railing. In the background is a street scene with a "Wellington" street sign, traffic signals, a "no left turn" sign, and the distinctive Gothic Revival clock tower/spire of a building on Parliament Hill, along with a large stone building facade on the right edge of the frame, trees, and a partly cloudy sky. A crowd of spectators lines the street further back.
Whatever floats your boat, Councillor Leiper
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/5c4uq5cnmQ8

And here was Councillor Leiper, a couple of days earlier, expressing his enthusiasm with having men and women share the public toilets at Ottawa City Hall:

The Liberal, NDP and Green parties were also represented, but the author failed to spot any local MPs or MPPs, with the exception of MPP Catherine McKenney and former MPP Joel Harden. We did not spot any federal leaders.

There was also a notable lack of indigenous presence.

A drag queen walking down the parade route, mid-stride, waving to the crowd with one arm raised. He has a voluminous curly platinum-blonde wig, dramatic makeup with pale green/white eyeshadow and dark winged eyeliner, and is wearing a bright lime-green one-shoulder gown with a halter-style neckline. The dress has a fitted bodice that flares into a full, ruffled tulle skirt covered in poofy lime-green pom-pom/tulle rosette clusters, with a long train trailing behind him on the pavement. He's wearing black lace-up strappy high-heeled sandals/booties. In his other hand, held out toward the crowd, he carries a green-and-white lawn sign reading "Vert · Green" with a small leaf-shaped logo, "Parti Vert de l'Ontario / Green Party of Ontario," and the URL "gpo.ca" beneath it — identifying him as promoting the Green Party of Ontario in the parade. Behind him, a large transgender pride flag (horizontal stripes of light blue, pink, and white) is being waved on a pole near the top left of the frame. A crowd of spectators lines the street behind a metal barricade — people are visible taking photos with phones and cameras, wearing sunglasses, ball caps, and casual summer clothing, with a couple of small rainbow items visible among them. In the background is a street scene with a blue street-name sign (partially legible, ending in "...Rank St." or similar), a pedestrian/traffic signal pole, ornate lamp posts with globe lights, decorative banners hanging from poles, mature green trees, and the tips of Gothic-style stone spires (consistent with the Parliament Hill grounds seen in the other photos from this event) visible over the fence line at the upper left. The sky is overcast/pale gray.
But there was this!
Looks like lime chiffon pie, therefore, must be lime chiffon pie.
Photo: Gender Dissent

And also furries. And furries in electric chairs. That’s nice.

A group of "furry" participants walking or riding in a Pride parade on a city street. In the foreground/center, a partial fursuiter is shown from the neck down: he wears only the head, paws, and tail of a blue-and-white wolf/fox-style fursuit (a large plush animal head with big cartoonish eyes and a yellow muzzle strap, furry blue paw gloves with lighter blue paw pads, and a long blue-and-white striped tail), while the rest of his body is in regular clothes — a black T-shirt, pink shorts, orange-and-white sneakers, and a light blue backpack. They're mid-stride with one paw raised, and carry a closed black-and-blue umbrella in the other paw. To the left, a small female participant sits in a manual wheelchair, wearing a full white-and-tan fursuit character head (resembling a dog or lamb, with fluffy fur, large round eyes, and pastel-colored ears/details), fluffy patterned leg coverings, and fingerless fur gloves; a small rainbow pride flag/bag hangs from the wheelchair's side. Behind and beside her, a woman in a yellow top and pink pleated skirt stands near a bicycle/handcycle, and partially visible at the far left edge is another fursuiter in a green/gray creature costume. The parade route has a painted green bike-lane marking on the road. In the background, a crowd of spectators stands behind metal barricades in front of a large stone building, with a "no left turn" traffic sign and trees visible. Various onlookers are taking photos on their phones. On the right side of the frame, a couple of people are seated on the curb, and another pedestrian in dark clothing walks past. Overall it's a bright, busy daytime street scene with the fursuit costumes as the clear visual focal point.
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/YRA7ZdImRrI

For a more fulsome appreciation of the furry people, visit the photo gallery for the Anthropomorphic Events Association of Ottawa (Ottawa Furries) here: https://ottawafurries.ca/gallery/.

Some of the performances and decorations were truly impressive: clearly the work of a lot of planning, time, and expense.

A colorful parade float for Unifor (a Canadian labor union) at Capital Pride 2026. The float is elaborately decorated with an enormous arrangement of balloon sculptures: a rainbow-colored spiky balloon "sunburst" arrangement of long twisted balloons in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple radiating from the top of the float, plus dense clusters of round balloons in matching rainbow colors, balloon heart shapes, a smiling balloon flower/sun face, and giant inflatable yellow "jazz hands" (open hand shapes) mounted along the float's side. A large red "U" logo (Unifor's branding) sits at the center of the float structure. The front panel of the float is a banner reading "UNIFOR" in blue on white, with a rainbow ribbon design and a shield-like union logo containing a "U," plus the word "Fierté" (French for "Pride") and "Pride" underneath. Several small rainbow and Progress Pride flags are mounted on and around the float. Riding on the float are several people: a young boy in a blue shirt, two people in orange/red Unifor shirts (one appears to be a preteen), a man near the top holding up a small pride/union pennant flag, and a woman in a striped hijab holding what looks like a small trophy or megaphone-shaped item. In the foreground, a woman with sunglasses and a gray T-shirt reading "TOGETHER WE SHINE..." (partially visible) walks beside the float holding a Progress Pride flag on a pole. To the left, another person with natural hair, wearing a black jacket and jeans, walks alongside watching the float. The scene is set on an outdoor street with a partly cloudy blue sky, and a street lamp is visible in the upper left background.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union had, by far, the BEST procession of the parade.
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/WYzCreICBq8

Your author had anticipated a sighting of the black-clad Trantifa types: jumpy young men who are promised a confrontation with the “far right” if they can just pull out of their gaming consoles for one afternoon and come downtown. The author was not sorry to note that virtually no one at the 2026 Capital Pride Parade met this description. Trans identified men were certainly present, but they were largely marching solo and not part of an identifiable group.

Two people walking hand-in-hand down a crowded city street/plaza during a Pride event. Both are dressed in a "puppy play" costume style, wearing full-face animal hood masks: the person on the left wears a white and gray dog/fox-style hood mask with pointed ears, a black harness over a black outfit, striped arm sleeves (black and white), a black tank top with graphic/text print, black shorts, striped knee-high socks (navy and white), and blue sneakers. They're holding a leash or strap in one hand. The person on the right wears a red and black hood mask with rounded ears, a black tank top printed with "Bound by [something]" text and a dragon-like graphic, black shorts with yellow-and-black caution tape–style trim reading "bite risk," red thigh-high stockings, and black boots, and is holding a water bottle in one hand while holding the other person's hand. Both people appear to be male. To the left in the foreground, a bald man in a red-and-navy plaid button-up shirt and dark shorts stands facing the camera, holding a small dark object (possibly a phone or leash handle) and a light-colored cloth item. Behind the two central figures, a large crowd fills the street, with many pedestrians in casual summer clothing, backpacks, and sunglasses. Overhead, string lights/banners hang from lamp posts, and there are blank white directional/wayfinding sign panels mounted on poles. A traffic signal and street lamps are visible in the background under mature green trees and a pale overcast sky, with tall buildings visible in the distance down the street.
There were these guys, though. Glad they found each other.
Photo: Gender Dissent

There was an almost-complete absence of keffiyehs and surgical masks. Possibly this can be explained by the fact that a Trans March for Equality had taken place on the evening of Friday, August 28. That is perhaps where the hypochondriac armchair jihadis congregated.

Nonetheless, the few photos available online from the Trans March show nary a Palestine flag in sight.

All in all, Capital Pride 2026 hearkened back to the good-old-days of the 2010s, when all the major employers, institutions and political parties of Ottawa made copious investments on branding associated with Pride. The number of free souvenirs being distributed by marchers filled an entire rainbow-branded bag and gave the proceedings a flavour of Halloween.

A flat-lay product/haul photo on a plain white background, showing an assortment of Pride parade freebies and giveaway items collected from the street. At the top left is a large rainbow-striped bandana or flag laid flat, with several stickers and pins arranged on top of it: a "Transpo" (Ottawa transit) sticker sheet reading "Pride Stickers," a heart-shaped sticker reading "Voice your power / Votre voix, notre force," a "Paramedic Ontario" badge-style sticker, a round pin with an illustrated portrait of a person, another round pin reading "PRIDE TORONTO" (partially visible), and two lollipops with round wrapper labels. Below that is a bright yellow bandana printed with "no name®" (a Canadian grocery store brand) and the text "bandana for wearing with pride." On top of it sits a small folded paper fan/circular flyer (with a colorful geometric pie-chart-style design and small logos), a blue lanyard clip with a tag reading "UFCW..." (a union), a "Read with Pride / Lisez avec fierté" bookmark-style card with a QR code, and a couple of small round pin-back buttons in blue tones. At the bottom left is a small Progress Pride flag (with the added chevron of black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes alongside the traditional rainbow). On the right side of the image is a rainbow-striped drawstring backpack/bag with black drawstring cords and black accent trim, printed with white text reading "AOCJA" or similar lettering (partially obscured/stylized), laid out with its straps visible.
The photographer’s street-side haul.
Photo: Gender Dissent

Has Capital Pride succeeded in setting some boundaries on all the other political goals that have colonized it since its victory of securing gay marriage in Canada in 2005?

Has Pride returned to celebrating the right of same-sex attracted people to enjoy the same rights that we all do?

A shirtless young man walking along a parade route in a lunging stride, holding a volleyball (branded "Mikasa," a well-known volleyball brand) against his side. He wears bright pink athletic shorts, white crew socks, white sneakers, and red-tinted sunglasses, with short dark hair styled up. His build is lean and athletic. Behind him, a silver pickup truck serves as a parade vehicle, decorated with rainbow-striped fan/bunting decorations along its tailgate and side. A large inflatable balloon shape (yellow and rainbow-striped, resembling a globe or sun) is mounted in the truck bed alongside a Canadian flag modified with a rainbow maple leaf design, and a large black speaker. A shirtless man in a red-and-white striped referee-style jersey stands in the truck bed near the speaker, adjusting something (possibly audio equipment), wearing headphones around his neck. To the left in the background, another man in a white tank top and blue shorts walks along the sidewalk. A crowd of spectators lines the street behind a metal barricade, with a couple of small signs/flags visible among them. The backdrop features a large tan stone building with tall arched windows, a street lamp, traffic signal poles with a "no right turn" sign, and a blue street sign reading "Wellington" (matching the Parliament Hill area location seen in the other photos from this event), along with trees and a partly cloudy sky.
These guys were pretty good!
Photo and video: Gender Dissent
https://youtube.com/shorts/uekVfz9QbNo

Can Pride exhibit all the glorious gender non-conformity of yesteryear, without advocating for medical interventions to conform bodies to gender identities?

Capital Pride Parade 2026 was just plain fun.

Sunshine, music, colour, smiles and dancing. Let’s have more of that.

A dense street crowd at Capital Pride parade in Ottawa, taken from within the crowd looking down a downtown city street lined with tall buildings, including one labeled "TAAG" in the upper right. A white banner/sign reading "centretown" hangs from a lamp post at the upper left, and multiple traffic signal lights (showing yellow) are visible on poles above the crowd. Bubbles are floating throughout the air in the shot — one participant near the center-right is holding a small pink bubble gun raised up, actively spraying bubbles. In the foreground, several people are seen from behind, walking down the street: a woman with dark hair in a white top and jeans, a person in a white shirt and beige/khaki shorts with a crossbody bag, and another person in a white shirt and black shorts holding up a large rainbow flag that ripples in the wind, partially obscuring their face. Small rainbow and Progress Pride flags are visible being carried by others nearby, and green inflatable pool-noodle-like objects are visible at the bottom right edge. Further back in the crowd, more parade-goers are visible carrying rainbow flags and colorful fans, with a large decorated float or vehicle visible mid-street featuring what looks like scaffolding/staging with performers and a tall white flag/banner mounted on it. The crowd stretches deep into the background down the street, with more spectators, tents, and colorful decorations visible in the distance under a hazy sky, with green trees framing the buildings on both sides.
Photo: Gender Dissent

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Katherine Jameson Digby
Katherine Jameson Digby
Katherine Jameson Digby is an Ottawa-based journalist and advocate for women's sex-based rights and child safeguarding.
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