The Ottawa Capital Pride parade was brought to a halt on Sunday when anti-Israel activists blockaded the march route in a bid to force organizers to adopt anti-Israel policies and force the mayor to apologize for withdrawing from the previous year’s event over its position on the ongoing Levantine conflicts.
Queers for Palestine (Q4P) and other protest groups stopped the parade at Wellington Street and O’Conner Street, unfurling banners and flags and linking arms to prevent the event from proceeding, according to an Instagram post by Q4P and a statement by Capital Pride.
The protesters’ demands included a call for Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to apologize for withdrawing from the 2024 event following statements accusing Israel of genocide and resolving to integrate official Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) blacklists into its sponsorship review program.
Sutcliffe joined a series of high-profile withdrawals from the event, including the municipality, the city’s school board, the Ontario Liberal Party, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, The Ottawa Hospital, the University of Ottawa, the Bank of Canada, and the US Embassy in Ottawa.
“Mayor Mark Sutcliffe boycotted Capital Pride for standing with Palestine. Corporations, politicians, and non-queer institutions followed suit. They tried to silence us, but our communities showed up louder than ever – Palestinian, Jewish, queer & allied – making it the biggest Pride Ottawa has ever seen,” Q4P said on social media last Tuesday.
“He’s still tied to right-wing business interests, still silencing criticism of Israel, and still trying to pinkwash his complicity.”
Q4P said that Capital Pride removed statements of support for Palestinians from their website following the 2024 incident.
During its 2025 impediment, QFP demanded that Capital Pride recommit to their previous statements and, on August 1, demanded that it disclose its 2025 sponsors, adopt a Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) policy, and host a BDS town hall.
The groups said they had held meetings ahead of the festival, but Capital Pride alleged that during the Sunday negotiations, Q4P “refused to have a meaningful discussion about how to move forward.”
“After over an hour of attempting to resolve the stoppage, it became clear that Q4P was unwilling to engage in a good-faith conversation and was insistent on misrepresenting our discussions,” said Capital Pride.
Parade organizers say it wasn't possible to reroute
THE PARADE organizers explained that it was not possible to reroute the parade halfway through given that street closures had a time limit, and they were left only with the option of canceling the remainder of the parade.
Q4P Lead Negotiator Emily Quaile disputed Capital Pride’s detailing of the events in a Sunday Instagram post, contending that the protest group had conducted amicable negotiations with the parade organizers. Quaile claimed that it had been agreed that Q4P would leave the parade, but supposedly before orders could be issued, she had to deal with a “Zionist aggressor.”
During the delay, Capital Pride canceled the event, allegedly without waiting.
Quaile placed the blame on Capital Pride and Sutcliffe for how events unfolded, charging that the mayor could have spoken to the protesters and taken a stand against the “genocide” in Gaza but preferred to see the event canceled rather than be an “ally.”
Sutcliffe said in a Sunday LinkedIn post that he was proud to have joined the week of pride celebrations in the Canadian capital, but that it was “deeply regrettable that a group of activists chose to block the parade.”
“My heart goes out to the many people in our city who were deprived of the opportunity to participate in this celebration of joy, resilience, and community,” said Sutcliffe. “At a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ rights are under attack around the world, it’s critical to show our solidarity with the community and honor all those who have achieved hard-won progress on equal rights.”
Capital Pride also mourned how the cancellation impacted the 7,000 people from 175 groups that had participated in the march but assured that the street festival and main stage programming could continue as planned.
The Jewish Federation of Ottawa said on Facebook on Sunday that it was disappointed “that the parade was derailed by misguided extremists whose actions overshadowed what should have been a joyful and positive experience.”
“They hijacked a celebration of love and diversity and betrayed the very spirit of Pride,” the Federation continued. “Our entire Ottawa community deserves better than to have its joy stolen by these divisive voices.”
The Federation also related that the Jewish community Pride breakfast was a success, marked with inspirational songs and speeches, including a statement by Israeli ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed.