The energy and crowds that define the Fierté Montréal Festival today are the result of years of activism and the celebration of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities. People of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities have always existed and have always occupied public spaces—considering the norms, limits, and possibilities of their time. The queer liberation movement is not new, but in the past 60 years, it has made significant progress in advancing the recognition of our communities’ rights. The Fierté Montréal celebrations are part of this ongoing movement.
Montréal had seen several protests regarding the “pre-Olympic” police raids in the 1970s, but the Pride movement in Montréal didn’t truly take off until the end of the decade. In October 1977, about fifty Montréal police officers, armed with submachine guns, raided the Truxx, a gay bar on Stanley Street, arresting nearly 150 people under “house of debauchery” charges. The raid and the ensuing protests—2,000 people took to the streets the next day—led the Gouvernement du Québec to amend the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in a historic vote on December 15. This amendment was a first in North America, and the raid has since been referred to as Montréal’s Stonewall. Learn more about the history of 2SLGBTQIA+ struggles in Montréal, Québec, and Canada in this article.
The first Pride march in Montréal was organized in 1979 by gay activist John Banks (who passed away in June 2024) after reading an article about the 10th anniversary of Stonewall. He joined forces with other local activists, including Armand La Monroe, to form the Brigade Rose. That first year, Guy Prezeau secured a permit, and 52 people marched along Saint-Laurent Boulevard between Sherbrooke and Duluth streets. Without rainbow flags, the marchers sewed two sheets together, dyed them pink, and cut them into a triangle to display at the front of the march. The following year, in 1980, the Brigade Rose grew to around 250 marchers.
The Association pour les Droits des Gais du Québec (ADGQ) undertook the Pride March until 1986. Between 1987 and 1992, various committees took on the task of organizing Pride parades in and around the Gay Village -already in the same area than today, the neighbourhood bordered by Sherbrooke Avenue to the North, René-Lévesque Boulevard to the South, Berri Street to the West, and Papineau Avenue to the East. The parades took place at the end of June of each year.
In July 1990, police officers from the Communauté Urbaine de Montréal raided a private party at a downtown loft known as Sex Garage. The police officers, who had removed their badges, beat several partygoers with batons, threatened to open fire on anyone attempting to leave without police escort, and arrested eight people. The next day, nearly 250 people gathered in front of Police Station 25 to denounce police brutality and the profiling of queer individuals. The police response was even more violent—50 people were arrested and subjected to further mistreatment while in custody. Some were beaten so severely that they had to be transported to the hospital. Journalists and TV camerapeople captured and reported the scenes of police brutality, bringing widespread attention to the incident. Two weeks later, 2,000 protesters marched through the streets of Montréal to Parc La Fontaine, where various speakers and artists took the stage. In 1993, in response to the events of Sex Garage, Suzanne Girard and Puelo Deir co-founded Divers/Cité and organized the first-ever “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Transvestite Pride” parade. This first attempt drew over 5,000 people, and by its third edition, the number of participants and spectators had grown to over 15,000. By 2010, the event had expanded into a multi-day festival, attracting over 100,000 attendees. The festival featured a wide range of free outdoor activities, including DJs, exhibitions, comedy shows, and music concerts. At the end of 2006, Divers/Cité decided to discontinue the parade and focus on its cultural festival. This decision led to the creation of Fierté Montréal in 2007. Struggling with financial difficulties, Divers/Cité ceased its operations in May 2015.
In 2007, Fierté Montréal (then known as Célébrations de la Fierté LGBTA) took over the organization of the Pride Parade in Montréal following Divers/Cité's decision to step away from community events planning. The first edition of the Fierté Montréal Festival took place on July 28 and 29, 2007. That year, 1,500 people participated in the inaugural Fierté Montréal Pride Parade, greeted by more than 50,000 spectators gathered along René-Lévesque Boulevard.
Since its first steps, Fierté Montréal has upheld the one-minute silence, originally introduced by Divers/Cité, to honor the pioneers of 2SLGBTQIA + communities and to commemorate all those who lost their lives too soon due to HIV/AIDS. Fierté Montréal has also been the driving force behind many innovations, including an annual theme, a jury-awarded recognition for outstanding parade contingents, a Children’s Day, and the appointment of local and international Grand Marshalls—many of whom 2SLGBTQIA+ activists working tirelessly to organize pride events in their own countries.
Since 2007, the Fierté Montréal Festival has steadily grown year after year. By 2024, it brought together over 300 organizations, gathering the 2SLGBTQIA+ community sector, the cultural ecosystem, private businesses, state-owned enterprises, and public institutions, all united to celebrate the creativity and resilience of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
As of today, Fierté Montréal amplifies the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to assure their representation, their inclusion and the recognition of their rights in society.
A look back at our history:
*Some information comes from a text written by journalist Richard Burnett for Fierté Montréal as part of the 10th edition of the Festival in 2017.