UK government set to take part in Pride activities across Canada
British government staff in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver join VisitBritain for Pride events across the country.
British Consulate and VisitBritain Team at Vancouver Pride Parade 2017
This year, the British Government will celebrate LGBT rights by participating in local Pride events in four Canadian cities as part of VisitBritain’s Love is GREAT campaign. As a champion of LGBT equality, the UK will proudly be celebrating Pride across Canada beginning Sunday 24 June with Toronto Pride, one of North America’s largest pride parades. The celebrations will continue across the country, returning once again to the Vancouver Pride Parade (05 August) and for the first time will include participation in Montreal’s Pride Parade (19 August). Celebrations will conclude in the nation’s capital with activities including the British High Commission’s second annual march in the Ottawa Pride Parade (26 August).
Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque, British High Commissioner to Canada, said:
Within days of arriving in Canada last summer I marched in Ottawa’s Pride Parade. It was a brilliant experience and I look forward to joining our staff and their families again in this year’s parade. Like Canada, the UK proudly celebrates our core values of celebrating diversity, protecting human rights and promoting an open society. We are proud of the progress we’ve made, including within the Diplomatic Service and want to make it clear here in Canada and around the globe.
The UK continues to be recognised as one of the most progressive countries in the world for LGBT rights and a friendly, welcoming destination for all.
Paul Gauger, Senior Vice President of the Americas, VisitBritain, said:
Whether you travel for culture, local flavour, thrills, or even love – there is something for everyone across the Pride season and beyond.
Alongside our new ‘I Travel For’ campaign, VisitBritain’s dedicated LGBT ‘Love is GREAT’ campaign highlights the unexpected experiences to be had in our thriving cities, vast countryside and spectacular coastline. It showcases the destination as a truly accepting, open and welcoming place for all people, which is so important when choosing a place to visit.
This year there are 26 cities across the Americas (including Canada, US, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile) where the British government is taking part in Pride parades or hosting events to show the UK’s global leadership as advocates for LGBT and human rights. The UK is the first foreign government to participate in global Prides at this scale.
Media enquiries
Tom Walsh
80 Elgin Street
Ottawa Ontario K1P 5K7
Canada
Email tom.walsh@fcdo.gov.uk
Office +1 613 868 9296