About Pride
Happy Pride Month, WCH! June is an important time to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2SLGBTQ+ community while also reflecting on the work that still needs to be done. It is also a time for our community to come together in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and show the world that WCH is United with Pride.
Pride in Toronto began as a protest in response to the 1981 bathhouse raids wherein 286 men were arrested by police in an attempt to suppress the city’s queer community. Today, that refusal to accept the status quo has grown to include a legacy of activism and revolutionary work that has paved the way to a place where we can celebrate the individuality of every person across a diverse spectrum of identities and the freedom to be accepted for who we are.
But we can’t take this for granted. Across the world and closer to home in the United States, we are seeing a sharp rise in harmful anti-2SLGBTQ+ legislation – and we are not immune to its impacts in Canada. Trans and gender-diverse patients continue to face many barriers in accessing safe, inclusive, and often life-saving care. Queer and trans Black and Indigenous folks face ongoing systemic and structural racism in all aspects of life. Now more than ever, we must continue to advocate for and come together in solidarity to protect the safety of our family, friends and colleagues.
Throughout June, our Pride Committee has partnered with the Office of Equity to provide many opportunities to engage, learn and celebrate. With many events planned throughout the month, you can always see the most up-to-date Pride programming on this Web Hub.
2023 Events
Pride Kick-off: Singing Out with Pride!
Kick-off our 2023 Pride celebrations with delicious treats and Toronto’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ choir, Singing Out! There will also be an Atrium Booth activation with pins, informational pamphlets, resources and more!
When: Thursday, June 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Peter Gilgan Atrium
Pride, Popcorn & Pronouns
Learn about the significance of pronouns while making your very own pronoun buttons to show your Pride! Choose from pre-made button designs, stamp your button, and get your very own bag of popcorn.
When: Wednesday, June 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Peter Gilgan Atrium
Pride Trivia & Treats
Spin to win! Answer some 2SLGBTQ+ trivia to win prizes and special treats to commemorate Pride’s history, and learn about fun and enlightening Queer facts.
When: Wednesday, June 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Peter Gilgan Atrium
Staff BBQ Drag Performance by Tynomi Banks!
Join us at our annual staff BBQ for a special Pride treat – a drag show with one of Canada’s top drag talents, Tynomi Banks! Along with delicious food and WCH swag at the BBQ, there will be a short meet and greet with Tynomi after her performance.
When: Thursday, June 22, 2023 – Performance starts at 12 p.m.
Where: Outside the WCH Main Entrance
Trans, Dyke & Pride Marches
Join us in marching alongside the 2SLGBTQ+ communities in Pride Toronto’s marching events! Born out of protest, WCH marches in solidarity with Queer communities to show our support for a healthier, more equitable world. As a thank you for marching, you will receive our official 2023 United with Pride T-Shirt. Sign up for all our marches HERE!
Trans Pride March: Friday, June 23 at 7 p.m. (meet at 6:30 p.m. at Hayden St. and Church St.)
Dyke Pride March: Saturday, June 24 at 1 p.m. (meet at 12:30 p.m. Hayden St. and Church St.)
Toronto Pride Parade: Sunday, June 25 at 1 p.m. (meet at 12:45 p.m. at Jarvis St. and Charles St. E (outside of Rabba Fine Foods House, 580 Jarvis St.)
Transition Related Surgeries: Virtual Seminar Series
Join us for an anonymous virtual forum to learn about and discuss transition related surgeries with our team of medical experts. This event is open to trans and gender diverse people, their loved ones and providers living in Ontario. Learn more
When: September 20 at 4 p.m. and December 8 at 12 p.m.
Where: Click here to register
Taking Action – Our Equity Roadmap
A high-quality healthcare organization starts with a culture that promotes equity and reduces disparities.
The Women’s College Hospital Equity Roadmap is an essential tool to guide our work to build an organizational culture focused on equity, inclusion, diversity, accessibility, anti-racism and anti-oppression; and to contribute to better outcomes for patients, families and providers within the health system.
Our WCH Equity Roadmap is grounded in the [r]Evolution: Build Back Better Strategy and further aligned with the Ontario Health Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-Racism Framework, and has been informed by recent literature, evidence-based best practice, theory and frameworks, consultative conversations, in addition to a scan of the current environmental state.
This Equity Roadmap offers a plan for the explicit and deliberate actions that are urgently required to reduce health inequities and create an organizational culture that will contribute to better outcomes for the communities we serve.
Transition Related Surgery Program
Transgender healthcare access issues are prominent in Canada and worldwide, with significant health gaps in access to skilled primary, emergency and specialty care services, which may include, for some individuals, access to medically necessary surgical services.
In response to a significant wait list for surgical referrals and lack of access to surgical services in publicly funded hospitals, Women’s College Hospital (WCH) has partnered with Sherbourne Health Centre including Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO), and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), along with a group of committed individuals from the community, to form the Trans Health Expansion Partnership (THEx).
THEx supports the expansion of health services for trans individuals and communities across Ontario. Under the umbrella of THEx, the Transition Related Surgery Sub-committee led by WCH, is charged with the goal of creating an accessible, and quality surgical program.
WCH is dedicated to supporting the health and wellness of our transgender and gender diverse clients. The surgical team of the Transition-Related Surgery (TRS) Program includes specialists in plastic surgery, urology, gynecology and anesthesiology as well as nurse practitioners, nurses and other health care providers. This program represents the first public hospital-based surgical program in Canada focused on providing safe and timely access to transition-related surgical care.
At WCH, we are dedicated to offering the safest proven surgical options for TRS. Working in partnership with our patients, we bring expertise, experience and a commitment to the highest quality of care and patient experience.
To learn more, click HERE
We are Women’s: United With Pride Month Spotlights
This Pride Month, we are spotlighting and celebrating our 2SLGBTQ+ team and community members as well as allies from across the organization as part of our We are Women’s series. Stay tuned for updates to this section throughout the month of June!
This month, we are meeting members of WCH’s Pride Committee, starting with one of our co-chairs, Kabir Shergill. Kabir is a staunch advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ community which made co-chairing the Pride Committee a no-brainer. Learn more about Kabir, what Pride means to him and his vision for future Pride celebrations.
This month, we are meeting members of WCH’s Pride Committee, starting with one of our co-chairs, Kabir Shergill. Kabir is a staunch advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ community which made co-chairing the Pride Committee a no-brainer. Learn more about Kabir, what Pride means to him and his vision for future Pride celebrations.
Artists & Affiliates
Singing out is Toronto’s largest 2SLGBTQQIA+ community choir. They are a mixed-voice, non-auditioned, choir – a relative rarity in communities across North America.
Above all, Singing Out is a community with a mission of pride, music, and belonging. With weekly Tuesday rehearsals, and social events throughout the year, Singing Out is a community where its members can be themselves freely with no judgement.
They have a mission to create a warm welcoming space where everyone who enjoys singing and learning can find a place to belong and have fun. The group welcomes different levels of experience, as well as diverse backgrounds and identities. All are welcome. At Singing Out we sing together, we sing as one, and we sing with pride. Check them out at our United With Pride Kick Off event at noon on Thursday, June 1st!
Tynomi Banks is a International, world-class Drag Entertainer.
Recognized best for her full production performances, Banks dominates a stage while radiating a powerful, but playful energy. Her hustle lead her to become the first Drag Entertainer to perform in Toronto’s Dundas Square during World Pride 2014. In just one month, during Pride 2018, she became the first Drag Entertainer to work with Hudson’s Bay Company and the only Queen to partner with Spotify for a featured playlist, which also resulted in a billboard over Dundas Square in Toronto during Pride. She has since partnered with Sephora, Shoppers Beauty, Amazon, Absolut, Netflix, Crest, and Ikea to name a few.
Banks became the first Drag Entertainer to be the trophy bearer at the 7th Annual Canadian Screen Awards.
In 2021, Banks was the only drag performer to be featured in a SuperBowl ad other than Rupaul herself. Then in February, she partnered with Black Lives Matter Canada to create and sell a line of merchandise where partial proceeds went to dismantle all forms of anti-Black racism, liberate Blackness, support Black healing, affirm Black existence, and create freedom to love and self-determine.
Catch Tynomi Banks on Season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race on Crave (Canada), LogoTV (USA) and BBC3 (UK), as well as performing at our Staff BBQ on Thursday, June 22!
Founded in 1981, Pride Toronto continues a legacy that is deeply intertwined with the rich, progressive history of Toronto’s queer community. From a small gathering of dedicated activists fighting for their right to love and be seen, to clashes with the government and police, to the vibrant celebration we know today, Pride has been a long time in the making. Join us by signing up for any of the march delegations, HERE.
Check out this page throughout the month of June for event photo and video updates!
Prides Past
Pride Kick-off: Singing Out with Pride
Pride, Popcorn and Pronouns
Trivia and Treats
Co-Chairs
Executive Committee
Anti-racism, Equity and Social Accountability Support
Sub-Committee Chairs
Our Full Committee
