Long criticized for its neutrality, Montreal Pride condemns 'genocide in Gaza'

Fierté Montréal, the organization that manages Montreal's Pride festival, has issued a statement condemning genocide in Gaza and said it is denying participation in the Pride parade to organizations spreading hateful discourse.

In a news release on Wednesday, Fierté Montréal said the widespread suffering in Gaza had prompted it to clarify its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Fierté Montréal condemns the ongoing genocide in Gaza, expresses solidarity with the Palestinian people and calls for the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in Palestine, and everywhere in the world, to be respected and protected," the statement says.

Fierté Montréal had for months faced criticism for its refusal to take a stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Wednesday's statement also comes in the wake of at least one performer threatening to pull out of the festival over the presence of Gaa'va, which calls itself "Canada's oldest and largest Jewish LGBTQ+ group."

In an Instagram post published Wednesday, performer Safia Nolin said she would not participate in a Pride festival concert on Sunday. 

"In the past few days, I have been made aware of the presence of Gaa'va, a Zionist LGBTQ+ group," Nolin wrote.

"Last year, the Israeli flag was at the parade. How does that make you feel? That's unacceptable."

Jewish group says it was excluded

Shortly after Nolin's post, Fierté Montréal issued its condemnation of genocide in Gaza and said it would deny participation to organizations spreading hateful discourse. Fierté Montréal did not specify which groups it would deny.

In a statement of its own released on Wednesday, Gaa'va said it had been notified of its exclusion from the Pride parade. 

Gaa'va said it, and its partner organization the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, were "deeply shocked to learn today from Montreal Pride that LGBTQ+ Jews and their allies will be excluded from the 2025 Pride parade."

The group's statement said Fierté Montréal had accused its representatives of making "allegedly hateful statements in an interview with a Jewish community newspaper."

The group denied that classification of its representatives' comments. 

"The terms 'pro-terror' or 'pro-Hamas,' which they are accused of using, may offend those who have supported or celebrated terrorism, but they do not constitute hate speech," the group's statement said. 

Pride changes its tune

Fierté Montréal's Wednesday statement marked a sharp departure from the language they previously used to describe the war in Gaza. 

Last year, a group of protesters chanting "Free Palestine" interrupted the Pride parade. This year, some 2SLGBTQ+ groups cut ties with Fierté Montréal, saying the organization no longer represents them. Some of those groups have openly criticized Fierté Montréal for not taking a position on the situation in Gaza.

In a post on its website in February 2025, executive director Simon Gamache defended Fierté Montréal's stance. 

"Fierté Montréal does not take political positions at the international level," Gamache wrote. "We listen to local 2SLGBTQIA+ communities who suffer directly or indirectly from geopolitical upheavals and conflicts and remain in solidarity within a safe and caring framework."

Some 2SLGBTQ+ groups criticized Fierté Montréal's statement as not going far enough and coming too late. 

Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and of the organizing committee for Wild Pride, said the statement used "fairly weak" language.

"They do not listen to the voices of those who are actually impacted by this," he said. "If they had been committed to this process, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Yara Coussa, a board member with Helem Montréal, a group that advocates for Arabic-speaking LGBTQ+ people in Montreal, said Fierté Montréal's statement lacked accountability.

"If I were to read the statement out of the blue, I'd be like, 'Oh wow, they were always pro-Palestine,'" Coussa said. "But they don't take accountability for their silence."

Fierté Montréal said in its statement that it would not be commenting further on the conflict. CBC reached out to ask whether Gaa'va and other groups had been removed from the festival's programming. 

A spokesperson for the festival did not respond to those questions, but said the organization does not exclude people of Jewish or any other faith.

"We do exclude groups that have actually made hateful and violent comments, in accordance with the complaints management policy put in place over the past few weeks," Oswaldo Gutierrez Bayardi said in an email. 

"On the contrary, all 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals adhering to the values of benevolence and inclusion are welcome at the Montreal Pride festival."

A spokesperson for Fierté Montréal said earlier Thursday that Gamache is on sick leave. An out-of-office reply from his email address says he will be off for "an undetermined duration."