Sidestepping concerns that caused the cancellation of Greater Sudbury’s pride march in 2023 and 2024, organizers of Fierté Sudbury Pride say this year’s march will take place July 12 on the sidewalks of downtown only.
This means police will not need to be involved for traffic control, which is a legal requirement for events shutting down city streets, said an organizer.
Some members of the community were uncomfortable with the presence of uniformed police at the event, causing its cancellation in the previous two years.
Fierté Sudbury Pride chair Aspen Groom (they/them pronouns) said running a parade that shuts down streets in Ontario without police involvement is “basically not a thing,” although they’ve heard of pride events doing just this in other provinces.
“The last few years have been really challenging, because the first year it was planned to deal with police, there was incredible community pushback, and then it was shut down,” Groom said.
“Then last year, basically the same thing happened with a new board, there was an incredible pushback, most of those board members stepped down, and then there was a struggle of trying to put something together.”
After consultations behind the scenes to ensure everyone feels safe, “it’s not within our cards at this moment” to have the march on the street for the aforementioned reasons, said Groom, who joined the pride board last fall.
“This has been the product of a lot of community consult,” they said. “We're trying to engage the folks who have had concerns and really listen and do it differently. I will say that that hasn't always been comfortable or easy, but I think we know that's always better.”
Given ongoing acts of violence by police against certain groups, some queer people who hold “other marginalized identities” wouldn’t feel comfortable marching alongside uniformed officers, Groom said.
“Recognizing that we have to stand in solidarity with everyone who is part of our community, that’s what we’re doing,” they said.
While the police won’t be involved, there will be volunteer marshalls who are trained by Fierté Sudbury Pride in de-escalation and safety, Groom said. Anyone who wants to volunteer at the march or any pride event is asked to contact pride online here.
The last pride march in Sudbury took place back in 2022, and had around 800 participants; Groom is hoping a lot of people show up this year as well, including from across Northeastern Ontario.
2025 Pride Week celebrations are set to take place from July 6-13.
Events include a 2S & Indigiqueer Art Exhibit on Monday, July 7, Youth Pride Prom on Friday July 11, the Pride March and Block Party on Saturday, July 12 (this will include performances from Canada’s Drag Race season II royalty Océan Aqua-Black, and Call Me Mother contestant Dahlia Doll). Closing will be a Drag Brunch on Sunday, July 13 by 2-Spirit, First-Nation-led drag house Bawating Babes.
Pride is a time to “celebrate and be joyous,” yes, but it’s also a time for activism, Groom said.
“The world for queer people has not been great,” they said. “Things are better in some ways now than they have been, but we also have to remember the fact that things are actually really bad in a lot of ways.”
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.