Northern Ont.’s largest pride march
Rainbow flags flew proudly in North Bay Saturday as the city kicked off the largest pride march in northern Ontario.
Rainbow flags flew proudly in North Bay Saturday as the city kicked off the largest pride march in northern Ontario. (Ian Campbell/CTV News Northern Ontario)The city is marking its annual pride week and the pride march drew out big names from across the region and beyond.
Attendees told CTV News pride week is a time set aside for love and celebrating one’s authentic self.
Dixie is a drag queen from Lavigne, Ont., in the West Nipissing area, who made their way to North Bay for the pride march dressed in an original creation.
“The dress I decided to make, it was a wedding dress so a celebration and I took all of the hateful words, faggot, queer, all those hateful things and put them on this dress and make them good,” said Dixie.
“You know what I’m going to take the hate, I’m going to own it, I’m going to make something beautiful, I’m going to say this me and damn well look good doing it.”
Mayor Chirico marched in the parade through downtown ending at the city waterfront and was met with positive feedback from those in attendance – with most in the area taking pride in how their community has evolved to be an inclusive one.
“It’s about celebrating our differences and bringing everyone together because when we celebrate our differences - we can build so much more,” said Nipissing MP and Speaker of the House Anthony Rota.
The costumes were colourful, the music loud – there was dancing, flag waving and plenty of smiles in the crowd as the march paraded through the city.
“This makes me proud, it makes me feel like the community is truly a community,” said Robert Saliba, the district’s LCBO manager.
Many more dignitaries from throughout the north and the province were on hand including Sudbury MPP Jamie West.
“It’s important to stand up for all our citizens,” East Ferris Mayor Pauline Rochefort.
Organizers said this is about promoting love and acceptance while taking a stand against some of the hate that has popped up against the 2SLGBTQ+ community – and having a little fun while doing it.
“When I was younger, like 10 years ago, there was nothing here – I didn’t even know to be honest what a lesbian was,” said Alysha Fournier, a member of the North Bay Pride organization.
“I think not only is there a huge sense of pride but a huge sense of finally feeling like I have a community.”
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
In addition to political dignitaries, educators, members of the United Church and armed service men and women from the local air force base were also in full attendance – with one of the biggest turnouts coming from organized labour.
Ontario CUPE president Fred Hahn made their way to the event on Saturday.
“It serves like a beacon - not only for the people in this community but frankly for small and northern communities all across the province to show that our communities are welcoming,” said Hahn.
Billie Bridgewater with the Ontario Public Service Employee Union said that the focus needs to be on positivity.
“There has been too much focus on hate, we cannot focus on the hate,” she said.
“We need to focus on the love, the positivity, the diversity and the inclusion.”
Organizers told CTV News they will continue to celebrate love and hold the feeling with spread across the city, the region and beyond.
For a full schedule of events, visit North Bay Pride’s website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank dealing with direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
'He was just gone': Police ramp up search for vulnerable 3-year-old boy in Mississauga, Ont.
Police in Mississauga are conducting a full-scale search of the city’s biggest park for a non-verbal toddler who went missing Thursday evening. Sgt. Jennifer Trimble told reporters Friday morning that there has been no trace of three-year-old Zaid Abdullah since 6:20 p.m., when he was last seen with his parents in Erindale Park, near Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
Reported rate of child pornography increased 52% in 2023, total crime up 3%: Statistics Canada
Last year, reported child pornography cases increased by more than 50 per cent in Canada, in part due to more cases being sent to police by specialized internet child exploitation units, according to a Statistics Canada report.
Sask. appeal court says anti-trans group cannot join constitutional dispute over pronoun law
Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has denied a political group that opposes so-called “gender ideology” intervener status in a legal dispute over the province’s controversial pronoun law.
Justin Timberlake's attorney disputes he was intoxicated when arrested for DWI
A hearing in the case of Justin Timberlake being accused of driving while intoxicated was held Friday, where an attorney for the singer disputed his arrest in June.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.
When Barbie learned what a gynecologist was, so did many other people, according to new study
A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film 'Barbie' had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health.