With parade not possible, Montreal Pride turns back to roots as festivities wrap up

MONTREAL -

Another edition of Montreal Pride has come to a close and while the annual parade was not held due to the pandemic, the festival found a replacement by looking to its roots.

Rather than the celebratory parade, a march was held that lacked the corporate floats and spectators that have become common.

Spokesperson Sandy Duperval said the event was meant to celebrate intersectionality, or the way that different identities cross over and converge in the LGBTQ+ community.

“I don't come out of my home just a lesbian, I don't come out of my home just a Black person, I come out with all these intersectionalities,” she said. “You never know why someone is being violent against me, maybe because I'm Black, maybe because I'm a woman, maybe a lesbian, but these are things I always have to be aware of.”

Montreal Pride's newest chair is an example of the importance of intersectionality, as Esther-Lea Ledoux is the festival's first woman and first Person of Colour to become president.

She said the fight is still on “to show that we are here, we're queer, we're colourful and equal.”