Barrie Pride

10/16/2026

The Gilbert Centre Peer Engagement Committee is made up of people with lived experience who work to improve services and advocate for policies that better support people who are unhoused, people who use drugs, and others who are often pushed to the margins. Barrie is facing a housing crisis, and decisions made by the next municipal government will have a significant impact on people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and poverty.

This Committee invited candidates for Barrie City Council to respond to six questions about housing, homelessness, public services, harm reduction, and criminalization. The candidates were given three weeks to respond to the questions and were provided with two reminders by email. The Peer Engagement Committee believes it is important for the public to have access to candidates' responses and to hear directly about their positions and commitments on these issues. This questionnaire and the published answers are for informational purposes only and should not be taken as an endorsement or statement of support or opposition for any candidate.

The full survey responses from candidates for Barrie City Council can be found here: https://www.gilbertcentre.ca/barrie-city-council-election-survey-2026

Advance Voting starts today (October 16, 2026). Election Day is Monday, October 26, 2026. Election information, including how to vote, can be found on the City of Barrie website here: https://www.barrie.ca/government-news/2026-municipal-election/information-voters

10/15/2026

Would you be interested in helping to run monthly sociables? Want to help create a safe space for the q***r community in Barrie? Come out to CW Coop’s tonight, October 15, to meet with the team and learn more. RSVP via email if possible!

09/17/2026

Aiming to get started around 8:30, in the FRONT room!

09/15/2026

Thursday September 17th is our next monthly sociable! We’re doing KARAOKE - come solo, duet, or bring the whole choir. This is a no-judgement zone! Just belt it out and have fun :)

Come on down to CW Coop’s (3 Mulcaster Street) to hang out, play some games, make a new friend, and have some delicious food and drinks from our lovely hosts. As always, we’ve also got resources, stickers, colouring pages, info packets, and great company… so grab a friend or 3 and we’ll see you there!

As per the venue, anyone under the age of 19 must be accompanied by a guardian after 9:00pm.

Please note:​ Barrie Pride has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy towards bullying, harassment, and intimidation at our events. We aim to create a safe and welcoming place for all, and ask that you do your part to maintain it. Any harassment, violence, or attempts therein will be reported to safeguard the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

09/02/2026

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the We Demand Rally, a landmark demonstration in the history of gay rights in Canada.

Learn more about 2SLGBTQIA+ people and history in Canada with our new research guide:

Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/research-help/social-history/2slgbtqia-communities-guide.html

08/23/2026

Canada opened its first national monument to LGBTQ+ people on Friday, and it only exists because the Canadian government spent forty years hunting gay people out of their own jobs.

From the 1950s into the mid-1990s, the military, the RCMP and the federal public service investigated and forced out anyone suspected of being gay, le***an, bisexual or trans.

Researchers estimate around 9,000 lives were upended. Todd Ross was discharged from the navy in 1990, with paperwork stating he was "not advantageously employable due to homosexuality."

The government even funded a device to help with the hunt, measuring pupils, pulse and perspiration while subjects were shown provocative images. It never worked. It ran for years anyway, and became known as the "Fruit Machine."

Survivors sued. A class action brought by 719 of them ended in a $145 million settlement, and $15 million of that was set aside to build a monument in downtown Ottawa.

It is called Thunderhead, a white column with cloud-shaped openings, and Ross, now co-chair of the LGBT Purge Fund, had a hand in what went inside it.

"Really to gay it up, we lined it with mirrored tiles so it feels like you're inside of a giant disco ball," he told CBC.