"There’s no place for the State in the bedrooms of the nation.”
Those words, spoken by Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau in 1967 in defense of his proposal to decriminalize homosexuality, among other things, caused a wave of controversy to sweep across the nation.
Much has changed in Canadian society in the 47 years since those words were spoken. In 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world – and the first outside of Europe – to legalize same-sex marriage.
For the past 36 years, Vancouver’s Pride parade and festival has celebrated LGBTQ causes and culture. The event earned hard-fought civic status last year, and marks the continuation of what might be the gayest time in Canadian history.
But as Ontario recently embraced its first openly gay premier, and Vancouver defiantly sent a gay city councillor to the Sochi Olympics, there remains many places in the world were it is not legal, or safe, to be queer.
So this week, as more than 650,000 people descend on Vancouver to show their solidarity and Pride, how will you show yours?
Share your party and costime photos, and parade videos with the hashtag #WEhavePride, and they’ll pop up in a live (and very colourful) gallery on our website.
