Provincial politicians are welcome, the parade organizers said, “in a non-partisan way.
According to his official schedule, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will march in the P.E.I. Pride parade in downtown Charlottetown on Saturday.
The parade starts at noon at the Terry Fox Drive building of the provincial government. It keeps going down Euston Street to Great George, Grafton, and Rochford, and then ends at Kent Street.
Trudeau’s participation was announced by the PMO months after parade organizers said they no longer wanted provincial politicians and political leaders to take part.
That happened after some audio of Premier Dennis King from when he was on trial came out. King said that in an ideal world, people would agree to disagree about things like drag storytime events. This was in response to a question from an unknown person on the voice track. He later said he was sorry for what he said.
In a statement to CBC last week, organizers made it clear that provincial politicians could march, but “only in a non-partisan way.” On July 21, Liberal MP Sean Casey held a barbecue to start Pride week.
“We understand how important it is, in light of recent events around the country and the world, for elected officials to show their support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” the statement said. “But we also recognize that, while some politicians have taken steps to be better allies, partisan political parties still have a lot of work to do to become inclusive groups that reflect the diverse population of Epekwitk/P.E.I.”
When protesters swarmed Trudeau’s motorcade last week in Belleville, Ont., he had to cut short an event and deal with some hostility. That event had nothing to do with Pride events.
The parade has a record number of 75 entries, including the first marching band to take part.