The Montreal Canada Day Parade, a beloved annual event that has drawn hundreds of thousands of spectators since its inception in 1977, has been canceled for 2024, according to an announcement made by the parade's main organizer, Nicholas Cowen.
In a press release issued on June 19, 2024, Cowen stated that a combination of factors, including reduced funding and what he described as interference from the federal government, left him with no choice but to cancel the event. Toronto 99 previously reported that the Trudeau government gave Pride organizers millions of tax dollars for security.
REMEMBER: Justin Trudeau cancelled Canada Day in Montreal, there will be no parade. However, there will be lots of naked old men showing kids their genitals.
Further reading: https://t.co/AlbMcwIQ7O pic.twitter.com/3UrtPHzSo6
— Mark Slapinski (@mark_slapinski) June 29, 2024
"They made it very difficult for me to put on the parade," Cowen said, explaining the challenges he faced in organizing the event. He described a process fraught with bureaucratic hurdles, including repeated requests for documentation and last-minute rule changes that complicated the planning process.
The parade, which typically attracts around 120,000 spectators and has been broadcast in 23 countries, has been a staple of Montreal's Canada Day celebrations for decades. Cowen, who has been involved with the parade since the 1990s, expressed his frustration with the escalating difficulties in securing permits, funding, and approval from governmental authorities. He noted that last year's event had to be reorganized multiple times to satisfy city authorities, a process that he found unusually demanding compared to his previous experiences.
"I thought it was directed at me alone first because of politics," Cowen stated. He added that he had to seek assistance from various elected officials at different levels of government to ensure last year's parade could proceed, a step he had rarely needed to take in his 24 years of experience with the event.
On June 3, 2024, the Government of Canada announced up to $1.5 million in funding for Fierté Canada Pride to enhance security for Pride festivals across the country.
Read the full media release here.https://t.co/KDA00GMyHl
Free Pride Safety Toolkit- https://t.co/BLqw1AQXGO pic.twitter.com/9CgcFTer5m
— RTO 9 (@RTO9_ON) June 4, 2024
Commentator Spencer Fernando has criticized Trudeau stating, "Trudeau has always been more drawn to dictatorships like Communist China and Communist Cuba, and he clearly sees the Anglosphere and Western Civilization as negative forces in the world. And so, Trudeau has sought to erase Canada's identity as a Western nation."
Meanwhile, the Toronto Pride Parade went on uninterrupted and received millions in federal funding. Many expressed outrage about the groups that showed up to the Toronto parade, including a pro-Palestinian group shouting for an "apartheid-free zone" and a nudist group that marched to cheering crowds. Commentators on social media said it was highly inappropriate for "pedophiles that show off their junk" to walk in the family-friendly event. Some said they should have been arrested for indecent exposure.
Toronto Pride parade is a shit show 🤦♂️
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) June 30, 2024
