Victoria Pride Society (VPS) exists to celebrate and support gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse (GSRD) communities and their intersecting identities through inclusive, accessible, and justice-oriented events. Pride belongs to the whole community, and our responsibility is to hold space for joy, visibility, protest, and solidarity.
The Victoria Pride Society Board has approved an application by the Canadian Armed Forces to participate in the 2026 Victoria Pride Parade in uniform.
As with all parade entries, this application was reviewed against VPS participation standards, community impact considerations, and our core purpose: to create inclusive spaces and celebrations for 2SLGBTQIA+ and GSRD communities.
In response to concerns raised by community members in previous years and more recently, the VPS Board undertook additional information gathering and engagement. This included conversations with local CAF leadership, as well as listening directly to current and former 2SLGBTQIA+ members of the Armed Forces.
We heard from individuals with a wide range of lived experiences, including those who have been directly harmed by past policies and discrimination within the CAF. We also heard from many 2SLGBTQIA+ CAF members who shared that changes in policies, culture, and leadership have had meaningful impacts on their sense of safety and belonging, and who expressed a strong desire to participate in Pride in uniform.
Based on this process, VPS determined that the CAF application met VPS participation standards and approved their inclusion in the 2026 parade.
There is no restriction on CAF members wearing dress uniforms as part of their participation.
At the same time, VPS recognizes that this decision will not be supported by all members of our community. We respect that there are diverse and deeply held perspectives on this issue, shaped by personal and collective histories.
Pride began as a protest against systemic violence, including police brutality, targeting queer, trans, and racialized communities. That history continues to shape how VPS approaches decisions about institutional participation in Pride.
While the Canadian Armed Forces and policing institutions are distinct, we recognize that both are part of broader systems that have caused harm to members of our communities. These realities inform the questions, concerns, and conversations we continue to engage in.
The decision to approve CAF participation reflects both an acknowledgment of past harms and an effort to respond to the voices of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members who are seeking visibility, inclusion, and the opportunity to participate in Pride as their full selves.
To align with the spirit and safety of Pride, the following provisions apply to the CAF parade entry:
These conditions reflect VPS’s commitment to maintaining Pride as a community-centered space.
The safety and well-being of all attendees, participants, and volunteers remains our top priority.
We recognize that the presence of uniformed personnel, whether military or otherwise, can impact how safe or welcome people feel. VPS continues to take steps to ensure Pride events are as inclusive and accessible as possible. This includes our ongoing work to minimize the presence of uniformed police officers at our events, while maintaining clear protocols to support attendee safety.
We remain committed to listening to community concerns and working to ensure that Pride is a space where all people can feel safe, seen, and celebrated.
Pride belongs to the community. VPS is committed to ongoing dialogue, transparency, and accountability in our decision-making.
We welcome feedback from community members and encourage you to share your questions and concerns through our feedback form: linked here.
In a time when the rights and freedoms of 2SLGBTQIA+ people are under increasing threat globally, we remain committed to building spaces of connection, resistance, and collective care. The Victoria Pride Society will continue to listen, learn, and evolve, grounded in our commitment to equity and intersectional justice.
The Victoria Pride Society Team
The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen Peoples and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it contribute to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples and all marginalized and equity-deserving people. Read more.
