On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became the first sitting Canadian prime minister to march in the Toronto Pride Parade.
Famous as Canada’s largest Pride parade, the celebration was tempered by last month’s shooting at the Pulse gay club in Orlando, Florida, in the United States of America. The massacre killed 49 people. "We have to speak up anytime there is intolerance or discrimination," Trudeau said as the 36th annual parade kicked off. The Florida tragedy is a reminder that "we can't let hate go by,'' he added.
Trudeau shared pictures of the event from his social media accounts.
The second youngest prime minister in the world has marched in the parade before, including last summer, but this was his first as prime minister. "For me, it is just another great Pride celebration. I've been coming to this for years and it's sort of frustrating that it has to be a big thing," Trudeau said as he downplayed his appearance at the parade. "It shouldn’t be a big thing that a prime minister’s walking a Pride parade, and from now on it won’t."
Trudeau strolled down the road and waved to the relentlessly cheering spectators for nearly two hours. The theme of this year's parade was "inclusivity". The parade marks the end of month-long Pride celebrations across the city.
The victims of the Orlando shooting were also honoured with a moment of silence during Sunday’s event where the security was higher than normal. Marchers displayed the names and ages of those killed in the Orlando tragedy.
Social media celebrated the historic parade with Indians taking digs at the country's politicians.
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