Ottawa’s largest school board will not be participating in the Capital Pride Parade this summer because it’s not happening during the school year. The Capital Pride Parade is held in late August to honour the 1971 We Demand Rally, the first-ever protest in Canada advocating for LGBT rights. This year’s Capital Pride Parade will be held on Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. A spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) tells CTV News Ottawa the Capital Pride festival falls outside of the school year for students and staff. “During the month of June, the OCDSB recognizes Pride Month in our schools. Pride Month is about education, celebrating diversity, and fostering inclusive spaces that prevent bullying, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia so that all students and staff feel valued and that they belong,” the OCDSB said. “The City of Ottawa recognizes Pride during the month of August with public events planned for the last week of August. These events do not fall within the school year for our students and staff.” The first day for classes for Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s elementary and secondary school students is Tuesday, September 1, with a PA Day scheduled for Aug. 31. Suspended OCDSB Trustee Donna Blackburn said in a Facebook post this weekend that OCDSB director of education Stacey Kay “pulled OCDSB participation in the Ottawa Pride Parade.” “This is outrageous,” Blackburn said, encouraging people to email the OCDSB to protest the decision. “The OCDSB has proudly walked as one of the biggest contingents since 2011, often chosen to lead the parade.” The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board participated in the 2025 Pride Parade, inviting students and staff to participate. “In previous years, hundreds of OCDSB students, staff and families walked or rode the yellow school bus, demonstrating our commitment to creating safer and more accepting spaces,” the OCDSB said on its website on July 30, 2025. “We encourage everyone who can to join us on August 24th, as we march together to celebrate diversity and promote inclusivity.” Lyra Evans, the OCDSB’s first openly transgender trustee, expressed a conflicted view of the board pulling out of the parade, citing both the importance of showing support for the LGBTQ community and the contradiction of some actions such as unaddressed bullying and cancelled Pride events. “I am of the belief that when an institution shows you who they are, you believe them,” Evans told CTV News. Evans said she doesn’t buy the board’s explanation for pulling out of the parade, saying it has participated in the parade since 2011 by volunteers who choose to participate without issue in the past. She says the decision may erode the LGBTQ community’s trust in the institution. “When a school board makes a decision to stop engaging with the local LGBTQ community, that erodes trust. It makes members of the community feel like the school board doesn’t have their back, and so you’re going to end up with the community not feeling that trust in years to come,” she said. In 2024, the OCDSB was among several organizations that withdrew from the Pride Parade after Capital Pride organizers issued a statement in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In June, Mutchmor Public Elementary School cancelled a drag queen storytime event as part of Pride Month due to “questions about curricular alignment. The Ottawa Catholic School Board says it has not participated in any parades as an organization. “We demonstrate our commitment to supporting 2SLGBTQ+ students and staff throughout the school year in our schools and communities,” the board said in a statement. “Throughout Pride Month, schools across the Board display the Progress Pride flag and many host activities and initiatives through local Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs), Rainbow Clubs and Diversity Clubs that promote belonging, understanding and respect. We remain focused on fostering welcoming, inclusive and respectful learning environments for all.”
