181-659: Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBTQ community in the Greater Toronto Area , it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and DJs , several licensed venues, a large Dyke March, a Trans March and the Pride Parade. The centre of
362-716: A capital. In 1787, the British Lord Dorchester arranged for the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, thereby securing more than a quarter of a million acres (1000 km ) of land in the Toronto area. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto. The first 25 years after the Toronto purchase were quiet, although "there were occasional independent fur traders" present in
543-633: A channel to the harbour. The peninsula was formed by longshore drift taking the sediments deposited along the Scarborough Bluffs shore and transporting them to the Islands area. The other source of sediment for the Port Lands wetland and the peninsula was the deposition of the Don River, which carved a wide valley through the sedimentary land of Toronto and deposited it in the shallow harbour. The harbour and
724-435: A community. By the early 1960s, a campaign to rid New York City of gay bars was in full effect by order of Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. , who was concerned about the image of the city in preparation for the 1964 World's Fair . The city revoked the liquor licenses of the bars and undercover police officers worked to entrap as many homosexual men as possible. Entrapment usually consisted of an undercover officer who found
905-417: A crowd that was incited to riot . Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested. Following
1086-647: A deficit of $ 155,232 in 2010. In the 2009/2010 financial year, sponsorships, which were identified as the primary source of financial difficulties, increased by 17% over 2009 (from $ 1,225,044 to $ 1,469,027). However, the total value of the grants Pride Week received declined from $ 971,800 in 2009 to $ 709,025 in 2010. The Pride Week event received the Top Choice Award for Top Event of the year 2007/2008. Each year, Pride Toronto identifies honoured group(s) that are highlighted for their contributions to 2SLGBTQ+ communities. These have included: Each year since 1988, through
1267-506: A distinct subculture through the following two decades. Prohibition inadvertently benefited gay establishments, as drinking alcohol was pushed underground along with other behaviors considered immoral. New York City passed laws against homosexuality in public and private businesses, but because alcohol was in high demand, speakeasies and impromptu drinking establishments were so numerous and temporary that authorities were unable to police them all. However, police raids continued, resulting in
1448-468: A fire hose. Because it had no water pressure, the hose was ineffective in dispersing the crowd and seemed only to encourage them. Marsha P. Johnson later said that it was the police that had started the fire in the bar. When demonstrators broke through the windows—which had been covered by plywood by the bar owners to deter the police from raiding the bar—the police inside unholstered their pistols. The doors flew open and officers pointed their weapons at
1629-413: A head on that one particular night in the one particular place and it was not an organized demonstration... The only known photograph from the first night of the riots, taken by freelance photographer Joseph Ambrosini, shows the homeless gay youth who slept in nearby Christopher Park, scuffling with police. Jackie Hormona and Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt are on the far left. The Mattachine Society newsletter
1810-558: A man in a bar or public park, engaged him in conversation; if the conversation headed toward the possibility that they might leave together—or the officer bought the man a drink—he was arrested for solicitation . One story in the New York Post described an arrest in a gym locker room, where the officer grabbed his crotch, moaning, and a man who asked him if he was all right was arrested. Few lawyers would defend cases as undesirable as these and some of those lawyers kicked back their fees to
1991-478: A month later offered its explanation of why the riots occurred: "It catered largely to a group of people who are not welcome in, or cannot afford, other places of homosexual social gathering ... The Stonewall became home to these kids. When it was raided, they fought for it. That and the fact that they had nothing to lose other than the most tolerant and broadminded gay place in town, explains why." Garbage cans, garbage, bottles, rocks, and bricks were hurled at
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#17328526561012172-478: A nominations process, Pride Toronto selects one or more grand marshals who will lead the Pride Parade. Past grand marshals include: Pride Toronto hosts multiple programs and stages, including several which occur every year. These include: First introduced to Toronto Pride festivities in 1999 by organizers of the Blackness Yes! Committee, Blockorama is an annual event created by and for BIPOC queers. Influenced by
2353-459: A peephole in order to get in. We were just out. We were in the streets." Thousands of people had gathered in front of the Stonewall, which had opened again, choking Christopher Street until the crowd spilled into adjoining blocks. The throng surrounded buses and cars, harassing the occupants unless they either admitted they were gay or indicated their support for the demonstrators. Marsha P. Johnson
2534-692: A program of events throughout the month leading up to the parade. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada , the organization's in-person Pride festivities for 2020 and 2021 – including the Trans March , the Dyke March and the Pride parade – were cancelled. Virtual Pride Month festivities and an online "parade" took place in both years. The organization's executive director since 2020
2715-579: A ravine or valley and continue on the other side. Toronto has many bridges spanning the ravines. Large bridges such as the Prince Edward Viaduct were built to span broad river valleys. Despite its deep ravines, Toronto is not remarkably hilly, but its elevation does increase steadily away from the lake. Elevation differences range from 76.5 metres (251 ft) above sea level at the Lake Ontario shore to 209 m (686 ft) above sea level near
2896-539: A report, "It is generally believed that those who engage in overt acts of perversion lack the emotional stability of normal persons", and said all of the government's intelligence agencies "are in complete agreement that sex perverts in Government constitute security risks". Between 1947 and 1950, 1,700 federal job applications were denied, 4,380 people were discharged from the military, and 420 were fired from their government jobs for being suspected homosexuals. Throughout
3077-525: A restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff known as a gayola , as the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license . It had no running water behind the bar—dirty glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other black market activities took place. It
3258-507: A safe place to dance, as the DOB grew they developed similar goals to the Mattachine and urged their members to assimilate into general society. One of the first challenges to government repression came in 1953. An organization named ONE, Inc. published a magazine called ONE . The U.S. Postal Service refused to mail its August issue, which concerned homosexual people in heterosexual marriages, on
3439-417: A second wagon. The police began escorting Mafia members into the first wagon, to the cheers of the bystanders. Next, regular employees were loaded into the wagon. A bystander shouted, "Gay power!", someone began singing " We Shall Overcome " and the crowd reacted with amusement and general good humor mixed with "growing and intensive hostility". An officer shoved a person in drag, who responded by hitting him on
3620-543: A secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids beforehand due to police tip-offs, and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could commence after the police had finished. During a typical raid, the lights were turned on and customers were lined up and their identification cards checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag were arrested; others were allowed to leave. Some of
3801-530: A series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn , in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City . Although the demonstrations were not the first time American homosexuals fought back against government-sponsored persecution of sexual minorities , the Stonewall riots marked a new beginning for
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#17328526561013982-627: A small riot at the Cooper Do-nuts café in Los Angeles in 1959 in response to police harassment. In a larger 1966 event in San Francisco, drag queens, hustlers, and trans women were sitting in Compton's Cafeteria when the police arrived to arrest people appearing to be physically male who were presenting as women. A riot ensued, with the cafeteria patrons slinging cups, plates, and saucers and breaking
4163-463: A vote of 27-17. A small group of Toronto residents organized a competing event with the theme of " first responder unity", which was scheduled for the same time as the main Pride parade but was located in another part of downtown Toronto. The First Responder Unity event made unauthorized use of Pride's logo on its website, as well as making deceptive marketing claims in an apparent attempt to portray itself as
4344-432: A woman in handcuffs was escorted from the door of the bar to the waiting police wagon several times. She escaped repeatedly and fought with four of the police, swearing and shouting, for about ten minutes. Described as "a typical New York butch" and "a dyke–stone butch", she had been hit on the head by an officer with a baton for, as one witness claimed, complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. Bystanders recalled that
4525-585: Is Sherwin Modeste. He succeeded Olivia Nuamah, who had been appointed in February 2017 to succeed Mathieu Chantelois . Main events of Pride Toronto's festival include the Trans March, the Dyke March and the Pride parade . Although a definitive count of attendees cannot be determined, estimates in recent years have ranged from 500,000 to over one million for the week, and about 100,000 for the parade itself. The festival
4706-454: Is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets . Its varied cultural institutions , which include numerous museums and galleries , festivals and public events , entertainment districts, national historic sites , and sports activities , attract over 43 million tourists each year. Toronto
4887-509: Is its escarpments. During the last ice age , the lower part of Toronto was beneath Glacial Lake Iroquois . Today, a series of escarpments mark the lake's former boundary, known as the "Iroquois Shoreline". The escarpments are most prominent from Victoria Park Avenue to the mouth of Highland Creek , where they form the Scarborough Bluffs . Other observable sections include the area near St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street and
5068-660: Is known for its many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings , in particular the CN Tower , the tallest freestanding structure on land outside of Asia. The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange , the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks , and the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations. Its economy is highly diversified with strengths in technology, design, financial services, life sciences, education, arts, fashion, aerospace, environmental innovation, food services, and tourism. Toronto
5249-579: Is now a museum. The pre-amalgamation City of Toronto covers the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and north. It is the most densely populated part of the city. The Financial District contains the First Canadian Place , Toronto-Dominion Centre , Scotia Plaza , Royal Bank Plaza , Commerce Court and Brookfield Place . This area includes, among others, the neighbourhoods of St. James Town , Garden District , St. Lawrence , Corktown , and Church and Wellesley . From that point,
5430-704: Is now presented as part of the Writers' Trust's regular slate of literary awards in October. Toronto Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario . With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America . The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe , an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding
5611-422: Is often touted as being one of the largest cultural festivals in North America and the 22 city blocks that make up the festival site is closed to vehicular traffic. Toronto's Pride Week evolved out of the mass protests that followed the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids , and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005. In the 2005 parade, newly appointed Toronto police chief Bill Blair became the first chief of police in
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5792-510: Is the third-largest tech hub in North America after Silicon Valley and New York City , and the fastest-growing hub. The word Toronto has been recorded with various spellings in French and English, including Tarento , Tarontha , Taronto , Toranto , Torento , Toronto , and Toronton . The most frequent early spelling, Taronto , referred to 'The Narrows', a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching where
5973-400: The 2026 FIFA World Cup . Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometres (243 sq mi), with a maximum north–south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi). It has a maximum east–west distance of 43 km (27 mi), and it has a 46-kilometre (29 mi) long waterfront shoreline, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario . The Toronto Islands and Port Lands extend out into
6154-569: The Great Irish Famine ; most of them were Catholic . By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. The Scottish and English population welcomed smaller numbers of Protestant Irish immigrants, some from what is now Northern Ireland, which gave the Orange Order significant and long-lasting influence over Toronto society. Almost every mayor of Toronto
6335-622: The Mississaugas had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars , with most returning to their homeland in present-day New York state. French traders founded Fort Rouillé in 1750 (the current Exhibition grounds were later developed there), but abandoned it in 1759 during the Seven Years' War . The British defeated the French and their indigenous allies in
6516-676: The New York Post , and the Daily News to tell them what was happening. All three papers covered the riots; the Daily News placed coverage on the front page. News of the riot spread quickly throughout Greenwich Village, fueled by rumors that it had been organized by the Students for a Democratic Society , the Black Panthers , or triggered by "a homosexual police officer whose roommate went dancing at
6697-470: The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail , led to widespread use of the name. The pronunciation of the city is broadly / t ə ˈ r ɒ n t oʊ / tə- RONT -oh , which locals pronounce [təˈɹɒnoʊ] or [ˈtɹɒnoʊ] , leaving the second 't' silent. The site of Toronto lay at the entrance to one of the oldest routes to the northwest, a route known and used by
6878-555: The United Nations and the White House . Similar demonstrations were then held also at other government buildings. The purpose was to protest the treatment of gay people in Cuba and U.S. employment discrimination. These pickets shocked many gay people and upset some of the leadership of Mattachine and the DOB. At the same time, demonstrations in the civil rights movement and opposition to
7059-589: The York University grounds in the city's north end at the intersection of Keele Street and Steeles Avenue. There are occasional hilly areas; in particular, midtown Toronto , as well as the Silverthorn and Fairbank neighbourhoods, have several sharply sloping hills. Lake Ontario remains occasionally visible from the peaks of these ridges as far north as Eglinton Avenue, 7 to 8 kilometres (4.3 to 5.0 mi) inland. The other major geographical feature of Toronto
7240-491: The gay rights movement in the United States and around the world. American gays and lesbians in the 1950s and 1960s faced a legal system more anti-homosexual than those of some other Western and Eastern Bloc countries. Early homophile groups in the U.S. sought to prove that gay people could be assimilated into society, and they favored non-confrontational education for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. The last years of
7421-503: The plexiglass windows in the front of the restaurant and returning several days later to smash the windows again after they were replaced. Professor Susan Stryker classifies the Compton's Cafeteria riot as an "act of anti-transgender discrimination, rather than an act of discrimination against sexual orientation" and connects the uprising to the issues of gender, race, and class that were being downplayed by homophile organizations. It marked
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7602-481: The "real" Pride event, calling itself one of the world's largest LGBTQ events and claiming a million attendees — Pride's usual attendance figures — months before the Unity event's actual attendance figures could possibly even be predicted. On June 19, however, Saunders publicly indicated that Toronto Police officers who wished to attend that event were also not permitted to do so in uniform. In October 2018, Pride Toronto made
7783-585: The 1950s and 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and police departments kept lists of known homosexuals and their favored establishments and friends; the U.S. Post Office kept track of addresses where material pertaining to homosexuality was mailed. State and local governments followed suit: bars catering to gay men and lesbians were shut down and their customers were arrested and exposed in newspapers. Cities performed "sweeps" to rid neighborhoods, parks, bars, and beaches of gay people. They outlawed
7964-634: The 1960s, however, were very contentious, as many social movements were active, including the African American Civil Rights Movement , the Counterculture of the 1960s , and antiwar demonstrations . These influences, along with the liberal environment of Greenwich Village, served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots. Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. The Stonewall Inn
8145-540: The 19th century, the city built an extensive sewage system to improve sanitation, and streets were illuminated with gas lighting as a regular service. Long-distance railway lines were constructed, including a route completed in 1854 linking Toronto with the Upper Great Lakes. The Grand Trunk Railway and the Northern Railway of Canada joined in the building of the first Union Station in downtown. The advent of
8326-570: The 2/3 majority needed to finalize the selection process. WorldPride 2014 in Toronto included an opening ceremony with concerts at Nathan Phillips Square ; an international human rights conference; a variety of networking and social events including Canada Day and Independence Day celebrations, and an exhibition commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots . Pride Toronto officials said that Pride Week 2009 drew an estimated one million people to Toronto and contributed C$ 136 million to
8507-583: The 2000s, many neighbourhoods became ethnically diverse and underwent gentrification due to increasing population and a housing boom during the late 1990s and the early 21st century. The first neighbourhoods affected were Leaside and North Toronto , gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York. Stonewall Riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising , Stonewall rebellion , Stonewall revolution , or simply Stonewall ) were
8688-662: The 2016 parade, the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter , who had been selected by Pride as the honoured group, interrupted the parade for approximately half an hour to call attention to a number of demands addressing racism in the LGBTQ community. The demands included Pride providing stable funding and space to events for LGBTQ people of colour such as Blockorama, Black Queer Youth and the South Asian stage, which had seen funding cuts and repeated relocation to less convenient or suitable venues in recent years, as well as increasing diversity in
8869-566: The 28th annual conference of InterPride , held in October 2009 in St. Petersburg, Florida , the InterPride membership voted to accept the bid of Pride Toronto to host WorldPride 2014 for the first time in North America . In the first round of voting, Toronto won 77 votes compared to Stockholm's 61. In the second and final round of voting Stockholm was eliminated and Toronto won 78% of the vote, fulfilling
9050-569: The City of Toronto in 1834. Toronto hosted the 4th G20 summit during June 26–27, 2010. This included the largest security operation in Canadian history. Following large-scale protests and rioting, law enforcement arrested more than 1,000 people, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. On July 8, 2013, severe flash flooding hit Toronto after an afternoon of slow-moving, intense thunderstorms. Toronto Hydro estimated 450,000 people were without power after
9231-506: The Code." Ford indicated that he plans to defund the parade regardless of the City Manager report. On April 15, 2011, QuAIA announced that it would withdraw from the 2011 Pride parade; however, councillor Giorgio Mammoliti responded that he would still introduce a motion to withdraw city funding from Pride Toronto if the committee did not explicitly ban the group from participating. In June 2012,
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#17328526561019412-482: The Don River, and north of Davenport Road from Caledonia to Spadina Road ; the Casa Loma grounds sit above this escarpment. The geography of the lakeshore has dramatically changed since the first settlement of Toronto. Much of the land on the harbour's north shore is landfill, filled in during the late 19th century. Until then, the lakefront docks (then known as wharves) were set back farther inland than today. Much of
9593-717: The Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. This narrows was called tkaronto by the Mohawk , meaning 'where there are trees standing in the water', and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain . The word Toronto , meaning 'plenty', also appears in a 1632 French lexicon of the Huron language , which is also an Iroquoian language. It also appears on French maps referring to various locations, including Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, and several rivers. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, known as
9774-576: The Huron, Iroquois, and Ojibwe . Archaeological sites show evidence of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The site was of strategic importance from the beginning of Ontario's recorded history. In the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon (Bead Hill) on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagon on the banks of the Humber River . By 1701,
9955-527: The Marquee Tourism program within days of the announced funding for Pride Week, with the Institute for Canadian Values statement and the ensuing uproar reportedly playing a role. Conservative MP Brad Trost was quoted as saying, "The pro-life and pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay pride parade in Toronto was not government policy." In May 2010 it
10136-503: The Marquee Tourism program. Shortly after this announcement, Charles McVety's Institute for Canadian Values issued a public statement titled "Conservatives Announce New Program to Fund Sex Parades," which condemned Stephen Harper's Conservative government for granting Pride Toronto the award and conflated the festival with sex abuse against children. It was later revealed that the Conservative government stripped Ablonczy of responsibility for
10317-487: The Mattachine of Washington, D.C. He had been fired from the U.S. Army Map Service for being a homosexual and sued unsuccessfully to be reinstated. Kameny wrote that homosexuals were no different from heterosexuals, often aiming his efforts at mental health professionals , some of whom attended Mattachine and DOB meetings telling members they were abnormal. In 1965, news on Cuban prison work camps for homosexuals inspired Mattachine New York and D.C. to organize protests at
10498-551: The Mattachine shifted their focus to assimilation and respectability. They reasoned that they would change more minds about homosexuality by proving that gay men and lesbians were normal people, no different from heterosexuals. Soon after, several women in San Francisco met in their living rooms to form the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) for lesbians. Although the eight women who created the DOB initially came together to be able to have
10679-616: The New York City Police Department arrived to free the police trapped inside the Stonewall. One officer's eye was cut and a few others were bruised from being struck by flying debris. Bob Kohler , who was walking his dog by the Stonewall that night, saw the TPF arrive: I had been in enough riots to know the fun was over ... The cops were totally humiliated. This never, ever happened. They were angrier than I guess they had ever been because everybody else had rioted ... but
10860-469: The Pride Toronto website. It was announced on February 24, 2021, that given the ban on city-led and permitted events had been extended through to June 30, 2021, the in-person Pride parade and other Pride-related festivities originally scheduled for June 25 to 27, 2021, would be cancelled. The event was again staged virtually and was hosted by Canada's Drag Race season 1 winner Priyanka , with performers including Allie X , iskwē and Gary Beals . Despite
11041-487: The Progressive Conservatives' majority. North York mayor Mel Lastman became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd mayor of Toronto, with his electoral victory . Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January Blizzard of 1999 , dumped 118 centimetres (46 in) of snow and effectively immobilized the city. He called in the Canadian Army to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move
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#173285265610111222-416: The Stonewall Inn for their own safety. Multiple accounts of the riot assert that there was no pre-existing organization or apparent cause for the demonstration; what ensued was spontaneous. Michael Fader explained: We all had a collective feeling like we'd had enough of this kind of shit. It wasn't anything tangible anybody said to anyone else, it was just kind of like everything over the years had come to
11403-480: The Stonewall against the officer's wishes". All day Saturday, June 28, people came to stare at the burned and blackened Stonewall Inn. Graffiti appeared on the walls of the bar, declaring "Drag power", "They invaded our rights", "Support gay power" and "Legalize gay bars", along with accusations of police looting and—regarding the status of the bar—"We are open." The next night, rioting again surrounded Christopher Street; participants remember differently which night
11584-478: The Stonewall riots, sexual minorities in New York City faced gender, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community. In the weeks and months after, they initiated politically active social organizations and launched publications that spoke openly about rights for gay people. The first anniversary of the riots was marked by peaceful demonstrations in several American cities that have since grown to become pride parades . The Stonewall National Monument
11765-552: The Toronto Harbour), and the Rouge River at the city's eastern limits. Most of the ravines and valley lands in Toronto today are parklands and recreational trails are laid out along the ravines and valleys. The original town was laid out in a grid plan on the flat plain north of the harbour, and this plan was extended outwards as the city grew. The width and depth of several of the ravines and valleys are such that several grid streets, such as Finch Avenue , Leslie Street , Lawrence Avenue , and St. Clair Avenue , terminate on one side of
11946-425: The Toronto city council voted to condemn the phrase "Israeli apartheid," as part of a resolution recognizing the Pride parade as a “significant cultural event that strongly promotes the ideals of tolerance and diversity.” The resolution said it slams the term "Israeli apartheid" for undermining the values of Pride and diminishing “the suffering experienced by individuals during the apartheid regime in South Africa.” At
12127-622: The Toronto skyline extends northward along Yonge Street. Old Toronto is also home to many historically wealthy residential enclaves, such as Yorkville , Rosedale, The Annex, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park , Lytton Park , Deer Park , Moore Park , and Casa Loma, most stretching away from downtown to the north. East and west of downtown, neighbourhoods such as Kensington Market , Chinatown , Leslieville , Cabbagetown and Riverdale are home to bustling commercial and cultural areas as well as communities of artists with studio lofts, with many middle- and upper-class professionals. Other neighbourhoods in
12308-441: The U.S. government, the U.S. Army , and other government-funded agencies and institutions, leading to a national paranoia. Anarchists , communists , and other people deemed un-American and subversive were considered security risks. Gay men and lesbians were included in this list by the U.S. State Department on the theory that they were susceptible to blackmail . In 1950, a Senate investigation chaired by Clyde R. Hoey noted in
12489-467: The Vietnam War all grew in prominence, frequency, and severity throughout the 1960s, as did their confrontations with police forces. On the outer fringes of the few small gay communities were people who challenged gender expectations. They were effeminate men and masculine women, or people who dressed and lived in contrast to their sex assigned at birth , either part or full-time. Contemporaneous nomenclature classified them as transvestites and they were
12670-474: The West. Like the Irish before them, many of these migrants lived in overcrowded shanty-type slums, such as " the Ward ", which was centred on Bay Street , now the heart of the country's Financial District . As new migrants began to prosper, they moved to better housing in other areas, in what is now understood to be succession waves of settlement. Despite its fast-paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to
12851-405: The adjacent Port Lands on the harbour's east side was a wetland filled in early in the 20th century. The shoreline from the harbour west to the Humber River has been extended into the lake. Further west, landfill has been used to create extensions of land such as Humber Bay Park. The Toronto Islands were a natural peninsula until a storm in 1858 severed their connection to the mainland, creating
13032-411: The angry crowd, threatening to shoot. Howard Smith, in the bar with the police, took a wrench from the bar and stuffed it in his pants, unsure if he might have to use it against the mob or the police. He watched someone squirt lighter fluid into the bar; as it was lit and the police took aim, sirens were heard and fire trucks arrived. The onslaught had lasted 45 minutes. When the violence broke out,
13213-427: The announcement that Toronto Police have been granted permission to march in the 2019 Pride parade. However, three months later Pride Toronto members reversed that position when they voted 163-161 to not allow uniformed officers in the 2019 parade. In January 2020, Pride Toronto announced that Olivia Nuamah was no longer its executive director, as of January 15. Despite concerns from the organization's membership about
13394-405: The architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities, was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985. The Casa Loma neighbourhood is named after "Casa Loma", a castle built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellat , complete with gardens, turrets, stables, an elevator, secret passages, and a bowling alley. Spadina House is a 19th-century manor that
13575-478: The area, with the usual complaints of debauchery and drunkenness. In 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany . Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York, believing the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the United States. The York garrison
13756-598: The arresting officer. The Mattachine Society succeeded in getting newly elected mayor John Lindsay to end the campaign of police entrapment in New York City. They had a more difficult time with the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA). While no laws prohibited serving homosexuals, courts allowed the SLA discretion in approving and revoking liquor licenses for businesses that might become "disorderly". Despite
13937-500: The back with a nightstick ." Another account stated, "I just can't ever get that one sight out of my mind. The cops with the [nightsticks] and the kick line on the other side. It was the most amazing thing ... And all the sudden that kick line, which I guess was a spoof on the machismo ... I think that's when I felt rage. Because people were getting smashed with bats. And for what? A kick line." Marsha P. Johnson , an African-American street queen , recalled arriving at
14118-512: The bar around "2:00 [am]", and that at that point the riots were well underway, with the building in flames. As the riots went on into the early hours of the morning, Johnson, along with Zazu Nova and Jackie Hormona, were noted as "three individuals known to have been in the vanguard" of the pushback against the police. Craig Rodwell , owner of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop , reported watching police chase participants through
14299-541: The bar early that evening to gather visual evidence, as the Public Morals Squad waited outside for the signal. Once ready, the undercover officers called for backup from the Sixth Precinct using the bar's pay telephone. Stonewall employees do not recall being tipped off that a raid was to occur that night, as was the custom. The music was turned off and the main lights were turned on. Approximately 200 people were in
14480-420: The bar that night. Patrons who had never experienced a police raid were confused. A few who realized what was happening began to run for doors and windows in the bathrooms, but police barred the doors. Michael Fader remembered, "Things happened so fast you kind of got caught not knowing. All of a sudden there were police there and we were told to all get in lines and to have our identification ready to be led out of
14661-488: The bar." The raid did not go as planned. Standard procedure was to line up the patrons, check their identification and have female police officers take customers dressed as women to the bathroom to verify their sex, upon which any people appearing to be physically male and dressed as women would be arrested. Those dressed as women that night refused to go with the officers. Men in line began to refuse to produce their identification. The police decided to take everyone present to
14842-428: The beginning of transgender activism in San Francisco. The Manhattan neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and Harlem were home to sizable gay and lesbian populations after World War I , when people who had served in the military took advantage of the opportunity to settle in larger cities. The enclaves of gay men and lesbians, described by a newspaper story as "short-haired women and long-haired men", developed
15023-463: The board of directors. As of March 2020, the board consists of six members. The first parade occurred in June 1981. For most of its history, Pride was a seven-to-ten day festival centred on the final week in June, with the parade falling on either the last weekend in June or the first weekend in July depending on the year's circumstances. Since 2016, the entire month of June has been declared Pride month, with
15204-664: The broadly disputed Toronto Purchase , when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown , the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada . During the War of 1812 , the town was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by American troops . York was renamed and incorporated in 1834 as the city of Toronto . It
15385-406: The building, breaking the windows. Witnesses attest that "flame queens", hustlers, and gay "street kids"—the most outcast people in the gay community—were responsible for the first volley of projectiles, as well as the uprooting of a parking meter used as a battering ram on the doors of the Stonewall Inn. The mob lit garbage on fire and stuffed it through the broken windows as the police grabbed
15566-669: The capital until 1865 (two years before Canadian Confederation). Since then, the capital of Canada has remained Ottawa , Ontario. Toronto became the capital of the province of Ontario after its official creation in 1867. The seat of government of the Ontario briefly returned to the same building that hosted the Third Parliament Building of Upper Canada, before moving to the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in 1893. Because of its provincial capital status,
15747-490: The cause of gay men and lesbians and provide opportunities where they could socialize without fear of being arrested. Los Angeles area homosexuals created the Mattachine Society in 1950, in the home of communist activist Harry Hay . Their objectives were to unify homosexuals, educate them, provide leadership, and assist "sexual deviants" with legal troubles. Facing enormous opposition to their radical approach, in 1953
15928-668: The central city retain an ethnic identity, including two smaller Chinatowns, the Greektown area, Little Italy , Portugal Village , and Little India , among others. The inner suburbs are contained within the former municipalities of York and East York. These are mature and traditionally working-class areas, consisting primarily of post–World War I small, single-family homes and small apartment blocks. Neighbourhoods such as Crescent Town , Thorncliffe Park , Flemingdon Park , Weston, and Oakwood Village consist mainly of high-rise apartments, which are home to many new immigrant families. During
16109-464: The channel of the Don River have been dredged numerous times for shipping. The lower section of the Don River was straightened and channelled in the 19th century. The former mouth drained into a wetland; today, the Don River drains into the harbour through a concrete waterway, the Keating Channel . To mitigate flooding in the area, as well as to create parkland, a second more natural mouth was built to
16290-735: The city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the Toronto Railway Company . The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission , later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission . The system now has the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America . The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto . The fire destroyed more than 100 buildings. The fire claimed one victim, John Croft, who
16471-632: The city was also the location of Government House , the residence of the viceregal representative of the Crown in right of Ontario . Long before the Royal Military College of Canada was established in 1876, supporters of the concept proposed military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, adult male students underwent a three-month-long military course at the School of Military Instruction in Toronto. Established by Militia General Order in 1864,
16652-470: The city was hit by a massive blackout which affected millions of Torontonians (it also affected most of Southern Ontario and parts of the United States), stranding some hundreds of people in tall buildings, knocking out traffic lights and suspending subway and streetcar service across the city during those aforementioned days. On March 6, 2009, the city celebrated the 175th anniversary of its inception as
16833-476: The city's economy, and state that they expect WorldPride to be significantly bigger. The actual numbers turned out to be closer to 2 million visitors. Economic impact was first reported at $ 286 million in 2014 and later updated to $ 719 million. Toronto Pride Week has not been without controversy, as the growth of the event in recent years has led to allegations that it has become an overly commercial enterprise dependent on corporate sponsors and business interests, to
17014-464: The city's history to personally take part in the parade. He marched alongside politicians of all parties, including several federal and provincial cabinet ministers and Mayor David Miller . A theme is selected for each Pride festival that reflects the current context of the queer community and helps shape the festivities. Previous themes included "Fearless" (2006), "Unstoppable!" (2007), "Unified" (2008), "Can't Stop. Won't Stop." (2009), "+" (2017). At
17195-449: The city, there exist hundreds of small neighbourhoods and some larger neighbourhoods covering a few square kilometres. The many residential communities of Toronto express a character distinct from the skyscrapers in the commercial core. Victorian and Edwardian-era residential buildings can be found in enclaves such as Rosedale , Cabbagetown , The Annex , and Yorkville . The Wychwood Park neighbourhood, historically significant for
17376-419: The clientele ranged between the upper teens and early thirties and the racial mix was distributed among mainly white, with Black, and Hispanic patrons. Because of its mix of people, its location, and the attraction of dancing, the Stonewall Inn was known by many as " the gay bar in the city". Police raids on gay bars were frequent, occurring on average once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in
17557-740: The closure of iconic establishments such as Eve's Hangout in 1926. The social repression of the 1950s resulted in a cultural revolution in Greenwich Village. A cohort of poets, later named the Beat poets, wrote about the evils of the social organization at the time, glorifying anarchy, drugs, and hedonistic pleasures over unquestioning social compliance, consumerism, and closed-mindedness. Of them, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs —both Greenwich Village residents—also wrote bluntly and honestly about homosexuality. Their writings attracted sympathetic liberal-minded people, as well as homosexuals looking for
17738-591: The crooked streets, only to see them appear around the next corner behind the police. Members of the mob stopped cars, overturning one of them to block Christopher Street. Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke , in their column printed in Screw , declared that "massive crowds of angry protesters chased [the police] for blocks screaming, 'Catch them! ' " By 4:00 am, the streets had nearly been cleared. Many people sat on stoops or gathered nearby in Christopher Park throughout
17919-417: The crowd were hospitalized, and four police officers were injured. Almost everything in the Stonewall Inn was broken. Inspector Pine had intended to close and dismantle the Stonewall Inn that night. Pay phones, toilets, mirrors, jukeboxes , and cigarette machines were all smashed, possibly in the riot and possibly by the police. During the siege of the Stonewall, Craig Rodwell called The New York Times ,
18100-438: The crowd, knocking a few people down, which incited bystanders even more. Some of those handcuffed in the wagon escaped when police left them unattended (deliberately, according to some witnesses). As the crowd tried to overturn the police wagon, two police cars and the wagon—with a few slashed tires—left immediately, with Inspector Pine urging them to return as soon as possible. The commotion attracted more people who learned what
18281-476: The detriment of local community groups and political activism. Although Pride officially defines itself as inclusive of all races, communities and gender identifications, many such groups within the LGBT community have alleged that their events and communities and issues are increasingly marginalized in favour of a commercialized agenda. For example, many smaller community groups have indicated that they can no longer afford
18462-441: The doorman or 'look gay'. Patrons were required to sign their names in a book to prove that the bar was a private "bottle club", but they rarely signed their real names. There were two dance floors in the Stonewall. The interior was painted black, making it very dark inside, with pulsing gel lights or black lights . If police were spotted, regular white lights were turned on, signaling that everyone should stop dancing or touching. In
18643-571: The elimination of racially based immigration policies by the late 1960s, Toronto became a destination for immigrants from all over the world. By the 1980s, Toronto had surpassed Montreal as Canada's most populous city and chief economic hub. During this time, in part owing to the political uncertainty raised by the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement , many national and multinational corporations moved their head offices from Montreal to Toronto and Western Canadian cities. On January 1, 1998, Toronto
18824-432: The fairies were not supposed to riot ... no group had ever forced cops to retreat before, so the anger was just enormous. I mean, they wanted to kill. With larger numbers, police detained anyone they could and put them in patrol wagons to go to jail, though Inspector Pine recalled, "Fights erupted with the transvestites, who wouldn't go into the patrol wagon." His recollection was corroborated by another witness across
19005-496: The federal government. It was announced on March 31, 2020, that Toronto's in-person Pride parade and festivities, originally scheduled for June 26 to 28, 2020, had been cancelled, as mandated by the City of Toronto's prohibition on city-led mass events, parades and festivities until at least June 30, 2020, owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada , although virtual Pride Month festivities and an online "parade" hosted by comedian Brandon Ash-Mohammed took place in June on
19186-409: The festival is the city's Church and Wellesley village, while the parade and marches are primarily routed along the nearby Yonge Street , Gerrard Street and Bloor Street. In 2014, the event served as the fourth international WorldPride , and was much larger than standard Toronto Prides. The event is organized by Pride Toronto, a non-profit organization. A growing complement of fourteen staff support
19367-580: The first mayor of Toronto . Mackenzie would later lead the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 against the British colonial government. Toronto's population of 9,000 included some African-American slaves, some of whom had been brought by the Loyalists, and Black Loyalists , whom the Crown had freed (most of the latter were resettled in Nova Scotia). By 1834, refugee slaves from America's South were also immigrating to Toronto to gain freedom. Slavery
19548-415: The form of a chorus line facing the line of helmeted and club-carrying cops. Just as the line got into a full kick routine, the TPF advanced again and cleared the crowd of screaming gay power[-]ites down Christopher to Seventh Avenue." One participant who had been in the Stonewall during the raid recalled, "The police rushed us and that's when I realized this is not a good thing to do, because they got me in
19729-406: The front door, but they did not leave quickly as usual. Instead, they stopped outside and a crowd began to grow and watch. Within minutes, between 100 and 150 people had congregated outside, some after they were released from inside the Stonewall and some after noticing the police cars and the crowd. Although the police forcefully pushed or kicked some patrons out of the bar, some customers released by
19910-576: The funds from the city), allowing the group to participate. Several Pro-Israel groups also attended the event. Pride Week's decision to reverse the ban on QuAIA after it had received funding from the city (which was done on the condition that QuAIA not be allowed to participate) drew sharp criticism from several sources. Rob Ford , who was then a mayoral candidate (he was subsequently elected several months later), stated that: "I want to express my disappointment and disgust with Pride Toronto's decision to allow this hateful group to march." Giorgio Mammoliti, who
20091-595: The grounds that the material was obscene despite it being covered in brown paper wrapping. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court , which in 1958 ruled that ONE, Inc. could mail its materials through the Postal Service. Homophile organizations—as homosexual groups self-identified in this era—grew in number and spread to the East Coast. Gradually, members of these organizations grew bolder. Frank Kameny founded
20272-438: The head with her purse. The cop clubbed her over the head, as the crowd began to boo. Author Edmund White , who had been passing by, recalled, "Everyone's restless, angry, and high-spirited. No one has a slogan, no one even has an attitude, but something's brewing." Pennies, then beer bottles, were thrown at the wagon as a rumor spread through the crowd that patrons still inside the bar were being beaten. A scuffle broke out when
20453-596: The high population of gay men and lesbians who called Greenwich Village home, very few places existed, other than bars, where they were able to congregate openly without being harassed or arrested. In 1966 the New York Mattachine held a "sip-in" at a Greenwich Village bar named Julius , which was frequented by gay men, to illustrate the discrimination homosexuals faced. None of the bars frequented by gay men and lesbians were owned by gay people. Almost all of them were owned and controlled by organized crime , who treated
20634-421: The hiring of the organization's staff and board — however, media coverage focused primarily on one explosive demand: that Toronto Police officers be barred from participating in Pride while in uniform, in response to ongoing police harassment of people of colour and transgender people. Executive director Mathieu Chantelois signed BLM's statement of demand, but later asserted that he had signed it only to end
20815-404: The history and politics that have shaped black and Caribbean Canadian communities, the organizers of Blockorama were concerned by the lack of safe BIPOC spaces at Toronto Pride. The event was created as a way for the queer black community to connect, but has grown over the years to include all BIPOC queers who might feel left out of the more dominant Pride events. Between 2007 and 2010, Blockorama,
20996-680: The hurricane caused more than CA$ 25 million in damage. In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were merged with larger neighbours, resulting in a six-municipality configuration that included the former city of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities of East York , Etobicoke , North York , Scarborough , and York . In the decades after World War II, refugees from war-torn Europe and Chinese job-seekers arrived, as well as construction labourers, particularly from Italy and Portugal. Toronto's population grew to more than one million in 1951 when large-scale suburbanization began and doubled to two million by 1971. Following
21177-494: The increased fees required to place a marching contingent in the parade, which is increasingly dominated by corporate-sponsored advertising floats; and many LGBTQ-owned small businesses which historically depended on vendor booths at Pride Toronto for publicity have indicated that they can no longer afford the increased fees for inclusion in the vendor area. As early as 2010 the Blackness Yes! committee, which organizes an annual dance party called Blockorama for LGBTQ people of colour,
21358-414: The issues to their satisfaction, they will no longer be sponsoring us next year. So next year looks very bleak at this point.” Audited financial statements released on January 25, 2011, indicated that Pride week had a $ 431,808 operating deficit for 2009/2010 (ending July 31, 2010), up from $ 138,605 in 2008/2009. Pride Week's bank indebtedness had increased significantly, from a surplus of $ 219,296 in 2009 to
21539-459: The lack of an official Pride celebration, some small-scale Pride events did take place, including a Dyke March and a No Pride in Policing rally. Toronto's Pride parade and festivities resumed in June 2022. On June 15, 2009, before the 2009 Pride Week festival, it was announced through the office of then Minister of State Diane Ablonczy that Pride Toronto would receive a $ 400,000 federal grant under
21720-400: The lake, allowing for a somewhat sheltered Toronto Harbour south of the downtown core. An Outer Harbour was constructed southeast of downtown during the 1950s and 1960s, and it is now used for recreation. The city's limits are formed by Lake Ontario to the south, the western boundary of Marie Curtis Park , Etobicoke Creek , Eglinton Avenue and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to
21901-442: The last night for bullshit ... Predominantly, the theme [w]as, "this shit has got to stop!" —anonymous Stonewall riots participant The police were to transport the bar's alcohol in patrol wagons. Twenty-eight cases of beer and nineteen bottles of hard liquor were seized, but the patrol wagons had not yet arrived, so patrons were required to wait in line for about 15 minutes. Those who were not arrested were released from
22082-409: The majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, over 160 languages are spoken in the city. The mayor of Toronto is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the chief executive of the city. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprising 25 councillors since the 2018 municipal election , representing geographical wards throughout the city. Toronto
22263-470: The majority of witnesses described as "sissies" or "swishes", the crowd surged to recapture them. Again, street battling ensued until 4:00 am. Beat poet and longtime Greenwich Village resident Allen Ginsberg lived on Christopher Street and happened upon the jubilant chaos. After he learned of the riot that had occurred the previous evening, he stated, "Gay power! Isn't that great! ... It's about time we did something to assert ourselves" and visited
22444-630: The matter of whether not honouring the demand, thereby alienating racialized and transgender members of the community, would also be an abdication of those same values. Some media analysts claimed that BLM was an outside group with no connection to LGBTQ issues at all, and thus should not have been invited to participate in the first place, even though all of the demands related directly to Pride's handling of transgender and racial issues, and BLM leaders Janaya Khan and Syrus Marcus Ware are both queer-identified. Pride staff have reaffirmed on more than one occasion that police were not barred from participating in
22625-572: The media. Following the meeting, Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders announced that the organization would voluntarily withdraw from any attempt to challenge the Pride membership's vote or participate in the parade. He affirmed, however, that the police service would continue to hold its established annual Pride reception, and would raise the rainbow flag at Toronto Police Headquarters. The decision led Toronto City Council to debate withdrawing its Pride funding for 2017. The motion to withdraw funding, put forward by councillor John Campbell , failed on
22806-460: The men, including those in drag, used their draft cards as identification. Women were required to wear three pieces of feminine clothing and would be arrested if found not wearing them. Typically, employees and management of the bars were also arrested. The period immediately before June 28, 1969, was marked by frequent raids of local bars—including a raid at the Stonewall Inn on the Tuesday before
22987-438: The morning, dazed in disbelief at what had transpired. Many witnesses remembered the surreal and eerie quiet that descended upon Christopher Street, though there continued to be "electricity in the air". One commented: "There was a certain beauty in the aftermath of the riot ... It was obvious, at least to me, that a lot of people really were gay and, you know, this was our street." Thirteen people had been arrested. Some in
23168-509: The most visible representatives of sexual minorities. They belied the carefully crafted image portrayed by the Mattachine Society and DOB asserted homosexuals were respectable, normal people. The Mattachine and DOB considered the trials of being arrested for wearing clothing of the opposite gender as a parallel to the struggles of homophile organizations: similar but distinctly separate. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people staged
23349-505: The much longer established Montreal , Quebec. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country. In 1954, the City of Toronto and 12 surrounding municipalities were federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto . The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development. It was believed a coordinated land-use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for
23530-432: The nine demands highlighted by Black Lives Matter in the 2016 incident discussed below. In 2015, Pride Toronto was forced to withdraw applications to trademark the phrases "Dyke March" and "Trans Pride", both referring to events which are organized by outside groups on Pride weekend as a reaction to lesbian and transgender people's concerns that their issues and needs are not adequately addressed by Pride. In 2010 there
23711-522: The non-partisan Toronto city manager released a report for the city council's executive committee concluding that "the participation of QUAIA in the Pride Parade based solely on the phrase 'Israeli Apartheid' does not violate the City’s Anti-Discrimination Policy. The City also cannot therefore conclude that the use of term on signs or banners to identify QuAIA constitutes the promotion of hatred or seeks to incite discrimination contrary to
23892-617: The north and the Rouge River and the Scarborough–Pickering Townline to the east. The city is mostly flat or gentle hills, and the land gently slopes upward away from the lake. The flat land is interrupted by the Toronto ravine system , which is cut by numerous creeks and rivers of the Toronto waterway system , most notably the Humber River in the west end, the Don River east of downtown (these two rivers flanking and defining
24073-456: The official events are supplemented with non-official events, including the Prism Festival, now in its seventh year and featuring international DJs and all-night dance parties. The Writers' Trust of Canada formerly presented its annual Dayne Ogilvie Prize , a literary award for LGBT writers, during Pride Month, although it later diversified to hold its gala at locations throughout Canada, and
24254-502: The only black queer diasporic event at Pride Toronto, was moved three separate times, with each location being further from the main Pride festivities than the last. Although Blockorama has been returned to its original location at the Wellesley stage, this happened as a result of community push-back from Blackness Yes! and Black Lives Matter Toronto to the uprooting and displacement of the event. Like many successful Pride events worldwide,
24435-508: The parade at all, but were simply being directed not to march in uniform. At Pride's general meeting in January 2017, the organization's members voted to affirm the motion that police not be permitted to march in uniform. Some opponents of the motion have falsely claimed that the meeting, and the resulting discussion about the police motion, were conducted in secret even though the meeting was scheduled and advertised normally and widely publicized by
24616-411: The police performed for the crowd by posing and saluting the police in an exaggerated fashion. The crowd's applause encouraged them further. When the first patrol wagon arrived, Inspector Pine recalled that the crowd—most of whom were homosexual—had grown to at least ten times the number of people who were arrested and they all became very quiet. Confusion over radio communication delayed the arrival of
24797-399: The police station, after separating those suspected of cross-dressing in a room in the back of the bar. All parties involved recall that a sense of discomfort spread very quickly, started by police who assaulted some of the lesbians by "feeling some of them up inappropriately" while frisking them. When did you ever see a fag fight back? ... Now, times were a-changin'. Tuesday night was
24978-463: The public dime. The City of Toronto, whose councilors already have explicitly denounced QuAIA’s “apartheid” propaganda, should prepare to cut funding. Corporate sponsors should do likewise." In March 2011, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has said that he will not allow city funding for the 2011 Toronto Pride Parade if organizers allow QuAIA march again this year. “Taxpayers dollars should not go toward funding hate speech,” Ford said. However, on April 13, 2011,
25159-458: The railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before. These enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent. Expanding port and rail facilities brought in northern timber for export and imported Pennsylvania coal. Industry dominated
25340-488: The rear of the bar was a smaller room frequented by "queens"; it was one of two bars where effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair (though dressed in men's clothing) could go. Only a few people in full drag were allowed in by the bouncers. The customers were "98 percent male" but a few lesbians sometimes came to the bar. Younger homeless adolescent males, who slept in nearby Christopher Park , would often try to get in so customers would buy them drinks. The age of
25521-506: The referendum results and did so in April when it tabled the City of Toronto Act . Both opposition parties held a filibuster in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity to take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given
25702-462: The region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, police services, water and public transit . In that year, a half-century after the Great Fire of 1904, disaster struck the city again when Hurricane Hazel brought intense winds and flash flooding. In the Toronto area, 81 people were killed, nearly 1,900 families were left homeless, and
25883-506: The regulars poorly, watered down the liquor, and overcharged for drinks. However, they also paid off police to prevent frequent raids. The Stonewall Inn, located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street , along with several other establishments in the city, was owned by the Genovese crime family . In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested $ 3,500 to turn the Stonewall Inn into a gay bar, after it had been
26064-607: The revolt from a bar two doors away from the Stonewall. Though Van Ronk was not gay, he had experienced police violence when he participated in antiwar demonstrations: "As far as I was concerned, anybody who'd stand against the cops was all right with me and that's why I stayed in ... Every time you turned around the cops were pulling some outrage or another." Van Ronk was the first of thirteen arrested that night. Ten police officers—including two policewomen—barricaded themselves, Van Ronk, Howard Smith (a column writer for The Village Voice ), and several handcuffed detainees inside
26245-550: The riots —and the closing of the Checkerboard, the Tele-Star, and two other clubs in Greenwich Village. At 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes policemen in dark suits, two patrol officers in uniform, Detective Charles Smythe, and Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine arrived at the Stonewall Inn's double doors and announced "Police! We're taking the place!" Two undercover policewomen and two undercover policemen entered
26426-485: The school enabled officers of militia or candidates for commission or promotion in the Militia to learn military duties, drill and discipline, to command a company at Battalion Drill, to drill a company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a company, and the duties of a company's officer. The school was retained at Confederation, in 1867. In 1868, Schools of cavalry and artillery instruction were formed in Toronto. In
26607-452: The sit-in and get the parade moving, and had not agreed to honour the demands. Following criticism of his handling of the incident, he resigned as executive director of Pride approximately six weeks later on August 11. Debate over the action focused primarily on the question of whether banning uniformed police from the parade represented an abdication of the organization's stated values of diversity and inclusivity , largely without regard to
26788-548: The south during the first half of the 2020s, thereby creating a new island, Ookwemin Minising . Toronto encompasses an area formerly administered by several separate municipalities that were amalgamated over the years. Each developed a distinct history and identity over the years, and their names remain in common use among Torontonians. Former municipalities include East York, Etobicoke, Forest Hill , Mimico , North York, Parkdale , Scarborough, Swansea , Weston and York. Throughout
26969-409: The storm and Toronto Pearson International Airport reported 126 mm (5 in) of rain had fallen over five hours, more than during Hurricane Hazel. Within six months, from December 20 to 22, 2013, Toronto was brought to a near halt by the worst ice storm in the city's history, rivalling the severity of the 1998 Ice Storm (which mainly affected southeastern Ontario, and Quebec). At the height of
27150-521: The storm, over 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers had no electricity or heating. Toronto hosted WorldPride in June 2014, and the Pan and Parapan American Games in 2015 . The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A 2019 study by Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University) showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area
27331-651: The street who said, "All I could see about who was fighting was that it was transvestites and they were fighting furiously." The TPF formed a phalanx and attempted to clear the streets by marching slowly and pushing the crowd back. The mob openly mocked the police. The crowd cheered, started impromptu kick lines and sang to the tune of " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay ": "We are the Stonewall girls/ We wear our hair in curls/ We don't wear underwear/ We show our pubic hair." Lucian Truscott reported in The Village Voice : "A stagnant situation there brought on some gay tomfoolery in
27512-431: The timing of her departure just months before the 2020 event, the board declined to clarify the reasons for her departure or even whether she had resigned or had been fired. In 2024, it was reported that Pride Toronto would be repaying just over $ 505,000 in federal grant funding after the accounting firm KPMG found that the organization could not prove that it completed several projects despite receiving $ 1.85 million from
27693-461: The town's surrender. American soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. Because of the sacking of York, British troops retaliated later in the war with the burning of Washington, D.C. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, adopting the Indigenous name. Reformist politician William Lyon Mackenzie became
27874-589: The war, and the area became part of the British colony of Quebec in 1763. During the American Revolutionary War , an influx of British settlers arrived there as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario. The Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies. The new province of Upper Canada was being created and needed
28055-631: The waterfront for the next 100 years. During the late 19th century, Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular, spirits ) centre in North America. By the 1860s, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery operations became the world's largest whisky factory. A preserved section of this once dominant local industry remains in the Distillery District . The harbour allowed access to grain and sugar imports used in processing. Horse-drawn streetcars gave way to electric streetcars in 1891 when
28236-593: The wearing of opposite-gender clothes and universities expelled instructors suspected of being homosexual. In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ( DSM ) as a mental disorder. A large-scale study of homosexuality in 1962 was used to justify the inclusion of the "disorder" as a supposed pathological hidden fear of the opposite sex caused by traumatic parent–child relationships. This view
28417-487: The western end of Lake Ontario , while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture and is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest , for more than 10,000 years. After
28598-410: The woman, whose identity remains unknown ( Stormé DeLarverie has been identified by some, including herself, as the woman, but accounts vary ), sparked the crowd to fight when she looked at bystanders and shouted, "Why don't you guys do something?" After an officer picked her up and heaved her into the back of the wagon, the crowd became a mob and became violent. The police tried to restrain some of
28779-465: The women and transmasculine people being held down the street at The Women's House of Detention joined in by chanting, setting fire to their belongings and tossing them into the street below. The historian Hugh Ryan says, "When I would talk to people about Stonewall, they would tell me, that night on Stonewall, we looked to the prison because we saw the women rioting and chanting, 'Gay rights, gay rights, gay rights.'" The Tactical Patrol Force (TPF) of
28960-405: The work of 22 festival teams; each team is responsible for an aspect of the festival. Each team was formerly administered by two or three volunteer team leads; in 2019, the decision was made to strip that down to one lead per team in favour of a staff-centered approach. The long-term vision for, and strategic oversight of, the organization and the festival is intended to be managed by 12 volunteers on
29141-423: Was a controversy over Pride Toronto's decisions regarding the participation of the group, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA). Initially, Pride Toronto agreed not to allow the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" as part of a deal with the City of Toronto (which had suggested that funding would be reviewed if the group was included). However, Pride Toronto subsequently reversed that decision June 23 (after it had received
29322-513: Was a member of the Orange Order between 1850 and 1950, and the city was sometimes referred to as the " Belfast of Canada" because of Orange influence in municipal politics and administration. For brief periods, Toronto was twice the capital of the united Province of Canada : first from 1849 to 1851, following unrest in Montreal, and later from 1855 to 1859. After this date, Quebec was designated as
29503-479: Was also running for mayor, announced that he would introduce a motion at the city council demanding that Pride return the $ 250,000 it had received from the city to reject all of Pride's future funding requests. In an editorial, the National Post called for both the City of Toronto and corporate sponsors to halt all funding to Pride Week, arguing that: "Anti-Israel bigots are free to have their own parade – but not on
29684-464: Was an explosive expert clearing the ruins from the fire. It caused CA$ 10,387,000 in damage (roughly CA$ 277,600,000 in 2020 terms). The city received new European immigrant groups from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews. They were soon followed by Russians, Poles, and other Eastern European nations, in addition to the Chinese entering from
29865-532: Was banned outright in Upper Canada (and throughout the British Empire) in 1834. Torontonians integrated people of colour into their society. In the 1840s, an eating house at Frederick and King Streets, a place of mercantile prosperity in the early city, was operated by a black man named Bloxom. As a major destination for immigrants to Canada, the city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century. The first significant wave of immigrants were Irish, fleeing
30046-435: Was built at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the harbour's eastern end behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street and Front Street (in the " Old Town " area). In 1813, as part of the War of 1812 , the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by United States forces. John Strachan negotiated
30227-535: Was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation . The city proper has since expanded past its original limits through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km (243.3 sq mi). The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada . About half of its residents were born outside of Canada and over 200 ethnic origins are represented among its inhabitants. While
30408-495: Was established at the site in 2016. Today, pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots. Following the social upheaval of World War II , many people in the United States felt a fervent desire to "restore the prewar social order and hold off the forces of change", according to historian Barry Adam . Spurred by the national emphasis on anti-communism , Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted hearings searching for communists in
30589-561: Was greatly enlarged, not through traditional annexations , but as an amalgamation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the Government of Ontario and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the " megacity "), replacing all six governments. The merger
30770-580: Was happening. Someone in the crowd declared that the bar had been raided because "they didn't pay off the cops", to which someone else yelled, "Let's pay them off!" Coins sailed through the air towards the police as the crowd shouted "Pigs!" and "Faggot cops!" Beer cans were thrown and the police lashed out, dispersing some of the crowd who found a construction site nearby with stacks of bricks. The police, outnumbered by between 500 and 600 people, grabbed several people, including activist folk singer (and mentor of Bob Dylan ) Dave Van Ronk —who had been attracted to
30951-405: Was more frantic or violent. Many of the same people returned from the previous evening—hustlers, street youths, and "queens"—but they were joined by "police provocateurs", curious bystanders, and even tourists. Remarkable to many was the sudden exhibition of homosexual affection in public, as described by one witness: "From going to places where you had to knock on a door and speak to someone through
31132-461: Was owned by the Mafia and catered to an assortment of patrons, popular among the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community: drag queens , representatives of a newly self-aware transgender community, effeminate young men, hustlers , and homeless youth. Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn and attracted
31313-541: Was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the Progressive Conservative provincial government under premier Mike Harris . The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a referendum in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation. However, municipal governments in Canada are creatures of the provincial governments, and referendums have little to no legal effect. The Harris government could thus legally ignore
31494-546: Was raising the alarm that their program was being involuntarily forced to move from its traditional space, the Wellesley Stage across from Wellesley subway station , to unsuitable spaces such as the smaller parking lot in front of the Church Street Beer Store , the unpaved and unsuitable-for-dancing George Hislop Park, or the far too small Alexander Street Parkette. An appropriate space for Blockorama became one of
31675-495: Was reported that Pride Toronto was facing severe financial difficulties because of the withdrawal of future funding from corporations and the City of Toronto due to the decision to allow QuAIA(Queers Against Israel Apartheid) to participate in the parade. Pride Toronto executive director Tracey Sandilands stated in an interview that "the fact that we might not be able to count on city funding next year, and existing sponsors who have given us notice in writing to say that unless we resolve
31856-425: Was revealed that Pride Toronto would not receive further federal funding under the Marquee Tourism program, despite having received a favorable review for its grant application. Toronto City Councilor Kyle Rae commented on the announcement, saying "Reading the political tea leaves from last year, and Diane Ablonczy being shoved aside, I think all of us saw that this was going to happen." In the late summer of 2010 it
32037-408: Was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fuelled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources. The city attracted international attention in 2003 when it became the centre of a major SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. Public health attempts to prevent the disease from spreading elsewhere temporarily dampened the local economy. From August 14 to 17, 2003,
32218-484: Was seen climbing a lamppost and dropping a heavy bag onto the hood of a police car, shattering the windshield. As on the previous evening, fires were started in garbage cans throughout the neighborhood. More than a hundred police were present from the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Precincts , but after 2:00 a.m. the TPF arrived again. Kick lines and police chases waxed and waned; when police captured demonstrators, whom
32399-442: Was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club. Visitors to the Stonewall Inn in 1969 were greeted by a bouncer who inspected them through a peephole in the door. The legal drinking age was 18 and to avoid unwittingly letting in undercover police (who were called "Lily Law", "Alice Blue Gown", or "Betty Badge" ), visitors would have to be known by
32580-609: Was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared with 131,767 in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto. The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada first occurred in Toronto and was among the hotspots in the country . Toronto was named as one of 16 cities in North America (and one of two Canadian cities) to host matches for
32761-527: Was widely influential in the medical profession. In 1956, the psychologist Evelyn Hooker performed a study that compared the happiness and well-adjusted nature of self-identified homosexual men with heterosexual men and found no difference. Her study stunned the medical community and made her a hero to many gay men and lesbians, but homosexuality remained in the DSM until 1974. In response to this trend, two organizations formed independently of each other to advance
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