Montréal, August 19, 2025. After careful consideration, Simon Gamache has announced to the Board of Directors his decision to step down from his role as executive director of Fierté Montréal. The organization is deeply grateful for his involvement over the past four years. Simon has worked to bring together 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and their allies to advance the rights of local queer people, combating both backlash and complacency. During his tenure, more than 350 community, cultural, philanthropic, and hospitality organizations, as well as unions, professional, and student associations, cultural institutions, and businesses participated annually in Fierté Montréal, a complex convergence operating in a fluctuating social context. He also oversaw a major overhaul of the organization's governance, the evolution of its business model and growth, consolidating Fierté Montréal’s keystone role in the festival ecosystem and as a standard-bearer of diversity and inclusion. Fierté Montréal's major transformation saw the organization adopt a unique and inclusive membership structure, reflecting the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities it celebrates, highlights, and amplifies.
Fierté Montréal's Board of Directors expresses its gratitude to Simon Gamache for his dedication and leadership and wishes him every success in his future professional endeavours. Moving forward, the Board has mandated the Nomination Committee to lead the recruitment process for the next executive director. The Committee, composed of independent individuals and administrators, will be supported by a firm specializing in executive recruitment. In the meantime, the Board will appoint an interim Executive Director in the coming days to ensure that the organization's affairs continue to be managed efficiently and effectively.
Fierté Montréal shall continue to evolve in collaboration with its many stakeholders. At a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ people’s rights are under threat around the world, Fierté Montréal invites 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and their allies to come together around what unites us: to build a Pride that will continue to celebrate the creativity and resilience of communities sustained by active listening and genuine dialogue.
“Getting to lead Fierté Montréal has been an honour and a unique privilege in my career. I would sincerely like to thank the thousands of individuals and organizations that have supported Fierté Montréal, both long-standing and newly joined. Your support is more important now than ever before. Please continue to support 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations that are doing heroic work at a time when our civil rights have been imperilled more than they have been in decades
”
— Simon Gamache
Outgoing Fierté Montréal Executive Director
“We would like to extend our warmest thanks to Simon Gamache for his contribution to Fierté Montréal's flourishing. Our organization is thriving, our mission lives on, and our teams are energized and engaged. We've once again delivered a festival that celebrated and showcased our communities on a fantastic scale. We will continue to engage in dialogue and foster the necessary conversations to help propel Fierté Montréal's progress. This collective momentum is the best proof that we are moving forward together, ever mindful of how we can do better
”
— Marlot Marleau
Chair of Fierté Montréal’s Board of Directors
About Fierté Montréal
Since 2007, Fierté Montréal has been amplifying the voices of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to ensure their social representation and inclusion, and to defend their rights. As vectors of social change, our festival, community initiatives and artistic/cultural projects celebrate the creativity and resilience of our communities. By listening to and collaborating with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, we call attention to their struggles and realities on the level of both the general public and institutions.
Fierté Montréal is based in Tio’tia:ke, on the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation. We recognize them as the custodians of the lands and waters on which we gather. Tio’tia:ke is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations, and today, a diverse Indigenous population, as well as other peoples, reside here. It is with respect for connections to the past, present, and future that we recognize the ongoing relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Montréal community at large.
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