‘It just makes me feel home’: LGBTQ2 newcomers celebrate first Pride in Toronto

WATCH: Preparations are underway for the 43rd annual Pride Festival in Toronto. Organizers say safety, security and celebration are a top priority. As Jaden Lee-Lincoln explains, it has become one of the largest Pride events in North America.

After living in Turkey for seven years as a refugee, Aramiy, now 35, relocated to Toronto last September. He said when he first visited the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood, known as the city’s Gay Village, it was the first time he had seen so many Pride flags out in the open. The Canadian government says more than 70 countries criminalize consensual same-sex relations, including six countries that punish same-sex relations with the death penalty. A 2022 statement from the United Nations Human Rights Office notes that while accurate data on forcibly displaced LGBTQ+ people is lacking, they are among the most vulnerable of the 84 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

“It’s gonna be a day where people celebrate Pride and you’re not scared of anything happening,” Bisaso said. “Because in Uganda, I’ve only been seeing this on TV.” Nugent said relocation can be life-changing for LGBTQ+ people, and those who leave their home countries often do so for a variety of reasons, such as unlawful detention, community rejection, violence and harassment. For her, coming to Canada made life “more colourful” and she now seeks to help others find the same acceptance.

Nugent also points to practical challenges for newcomers such as finding housing, which can be difficult if they don’t have financial history in Canada.

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