Families, students and community advocates gathered outside Mutchmor Public School in Ottawa’s Glebe neighbourhood on Friday to show support for Pride after a planned drag queen storytime event was cancelled. Dozens of people waving Pride flags attended the gathering, which organizers said was intended to demonstrate solidarity with students and families and reaffirm the community’s commitment to inclusion. “We wanted to show our kids that this does matter, and we do support them, and they are welcome,” said Jessica Fullerton, a parent at Mutchmor who helped organize the event. The gathering comes days after a planned drag storytime for Pride Month was cancelled. Earlier this week, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said the event was cancelled after raising questions about curricular alignment. For many families, the decision raised some questions. Fullerton said previous events helped spark conversations about diversity, self-expression, and acceptance. “It started some really amazing conversations about. ‘Wow, this person was dressed up and they looked amazing, what does that mean?’ It was a great jumping-off point for those conversations,” she said. The gathering drew parents, children, and advocates from across the community, many of whom said the cancellation came as a surprise. Emily Quaile with Community Solidarity Ottawa said lessons about diversity and inclusion are an important part of helping children understand the world around them. “We have to accept that some people have expertise in teaching our children certain lessons and accepting other kids and learning that queer people and trans people exist, and they are a part of our communities and always will be,” Quaile said. June 19, 2026, was supposed to be the day the school welcomed Adrianna Exposée, a drag performer, for the event. Exposée told CTV News in an email earlier this week the cancellation was due to parental pushback but didn’t provide more details. “It’s just sad that we are bending to the will of those voices when we need to be showing these members of our community, that we support them, that they are safe here, that they are welcome,” Fullerton said. Organizers say the event was ultimately about ensuring children know they belong as they feel the decision to discontinue the storytime left them concerned about the message it sends to their children about diversity and acceptance. “The cancellation this year was very, very disappointing for many members of our community because it did show the messaging at least, was that you’re not welcome and we’re not tolerant of people who are different,” Fullerton adds. “So, it’s been very frustrating too that we have not known why the event was canceled.” Advocates are urging the school administration to reinstate drag storytime. The school board did not respond to CTV News’s request for comment.
