Hundreds gather in downtown Charlottetown for 2025 Pride parade

Hundreds of Island residents gathered on the streets of Charlottetown Saturday to take part in and watch the 2025 Pride parade.

Brenda Roach, who was born and raised on P.E.I., said Pride celebrations have come a long way since she first came out in the 1990s.

"It wasn't well received, and we fought a lot for the kids coming in today," she said. "It's changed an awful lot, a lot more people are out celebrating, it's not as closed off as it was, and we have all ages celebrating now."

Roach said the Pride parade has grown exponentially in size. She said the first one she attended lasted five minutes, compared to 30 minutes for today's one.

A group of UPEI engineering students had a float in the parade, but had to put their skills to good use when strong winds necessitated troubleshooting.

"We pretty well had to rebuild [the float], so I was pretty well in the truck bed and just having to put knots together for like an hour, and I was really stressed because I didn't want it to break," said Ethan Drake.

"But we went through the whole parade with no issues, so I was really happy about that."

Heather Doran marched in the parade as part of a group from the Confederation Court Mall. She said she has been attending the Pride parade since 1991.

Doran said she has a nibling — which is a gender-neutral term for a niece or nephew — and godchild who is trans and non-binary.

"It's personal for me, and it's just so exciting to see the community come out and support the queer community," said Doran.

Doran said there was amazing energy, with many people yelling "Happy Pride!" and dancing.

"It's sometimes hard for people who have to fight for their rights all the time," she said. "It's nice to have everyone come together and have a chance to celebrate once a year."