The Vancouver Pride Parade had a noticeable shift in sponsors this year, but why? I thought ‘gay’ was a compliment now.
Cami Davila (she/her) // Crew Writer
Tin Raganit (they/them) // Illustrator
The 47th annual Vancouver Pride Parade was celebrated on August 3, 2025. According to CBC, between 200,000 and 300,000 people attended. While every year there are more people going to the parade—thanks to Buzzfeed’s ‘Am I Gay?’ quiz and the increasing number of ‘Drag Race’ franchises—this year, the celebration was on thin ice.
Nearly half of the event sponsors withdrew their support. The board secretary of the Vancouver Pride Society, Morgan Oger, reported to CBC that last year the parade received about $900,000. In 2025, that number fell to $500,000 as a result of the absence of six major companies, including Walmart and Lululemon. Oger attributes this to two potential factors. Firstly, these companies may be facing a “financial hardship” as she called it, and the first option to stay afloat is withdrawing their sponsorship from pride parades.
While the luxury of disposable Telus-themed rainbow cardboard fans were missed, we understand that now isn’t really the time to be wasting money on frivolous things that come with being involved in the parade. Who can afford to pay one voguing white guy to lead the float? Or purchase a bass-boosted large speaker to blast ‘Stars are Blind’ and ‘Express Yourself’ with which to vogue to?
Secondly, the United States is facing a ‘significant political push’ against LGBTQ+ issues and it has begun to reflect in Canada, as well. This comes as no surprise with Donald Trump as president. After not even one week in the White House, Trump signed an executive order that eliminates the federal recognition of trans identities.
Luckily, our government couldn’t be further from stripping rights away as Prime Minister Mark Carney even joined the partney. He even referred to the parade as, “the best in Canada,” took three pictures and was quickly escorted away from the Pups of Vancouver float. When asked about it, his security informed the crowd that he was more of a cat guy.
It is nice to see that Vancouver knows that local queerness is worthy of a celebration and even with the changes due to the low budget, the parade served and didn’t disappoint. Your straight and almost happily married great-aunt Mindy got to dance on top of a van covered in rainbows and naked men, and isn’t that what the pride parade has always been about?
In the end, we are left with a bitter smell in our popper-filled nostrils. We are left wondering why the sponsors turned their backs on the event and whether this is something that will continue to happen with other LGBTQ+ issues in Vancouver. A lingering question in the minds of every queer person within these streets, who are left shaken and confused wondering what could have made Walmart so unsupportive? What made the popular culture turn their backs on a community they so begrudgingly slowly acknowledged the existence of over the past 60 years? That being said, nothing can take away the pride we carry as queer people and we will keep celebrating it, with or without obstacles. Never forget: Baby, you were born Abracadabra Glamazon Hung Up If I Could Turn Back Time King Princess.
Chaka Khan.