George Hislop, cofounder of CHAT, and the first openly gay city council candidate, joined the younger activist for the inaugural march in 1972. As the group of approximately 300 people marched up University Avenue, defying the city with their unsanctioned parade, Moldenhauer noted the “unmarked police cars, with cameras, taking pictures…”. In the former synagogue that housed CHAT at the time, Pride had “panel discussions, there was an art exhibit, there was enough space to have dances – everything.” But it wasn’t all fun and games. Jearld Moldenhauer, who spoke to queerstory.ca about CHAT’s involvement, detailed the first gay pride week held in 1972.
![gay pride week 2017 toronto canada gay pride week 2017 toronto canada](https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2017/06/25/trudeau-to-march-in-toronto-pride-parade-sunday/trudeau-pride.jpg)
#GAY PRIDE WEEK 2017 TORONTO CANADA FULL#
The ArQuives has a full collection of archival artifacts, vertical files, video and photography documenting the events and activism that infused this movement and the early iterations of Pride. Regardless of this debate, the 1970s ground swell of grassroots activism, individual sacrifice, risk and the innovative community building of Toronto’s gay community must be acknowledged and heralded as the beginning of the national queer movement that is responsible for the rights we now cherish. To celebrate Pride month, we wanted to take a look at the very first Pride in Toronto: when was it? What was it? The date of the first “ Official Pride” will continue to be debated among academics, scholars and activists. Pride however has its roots, as we all know, in much humbler beginnings. Today, there are 45 sponsors listed on Pride Toronto’s Pride 2018 page, and it seems like the third annual instalment of Pride month in Toronto will be bigger than ever. In June 2017, Pride Toronto held its second annual “Pride Month.” More than 2.1 million people attended programming that spanned 25 days. Where were the seeds of our Pride Month planted? How did it start?