Pride season invites everybody in

Pride season invites everybody in

June 11, 2026 - Defence Stories

Estimated read time - 2:26

Pride Season is a time of year when 'community' comes into focus in powerful ways.

Each year, from June to September, people across Canada come together to celebrate, learn, remember, and show support for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and additional sexually and gender-diverse (2SLGBTQI+) communities.

In many ways, Pride Season has a uniquely Canadian rhythm because it includes:

• Pride Month, celebrated every June in many countries and connected to the legacy of the Stonewall riots, which began in June 1969 in Manhattan, New York City;
• local and regional Pride events celebrated all summer long across Canada; and
• Public Service Pride Week, celebrated annually the third week of August.

That is part of what makes Pride so meaningful. It unfolds across the country in ways that uniquely reflect the people, places, and histories of each community. In some places, Pride is a large parade or festival. In others, it is a flag raising, a picnic, a panel discussion, a family-friendly event, a local march, or a quiet moment of remembrance. Each one matters because each one creates space for people to be seen, supported, and celebrated.

For the Defence Team, Pride Season is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate 2SLGBTQI+ civilian and military personnel, colleagues, families, friends, and local communities. It is joyful, but it is also rooted in solidarity, advocacy, hope, acceptance, and inclusion. These principles connect directly to our Culture Evolution journey and to the DND and CAF Code of Values and Ethics, which remind us that respect, dignity, and belonging are an essential part of the public roles exercised by Defence Team personnel, both civilian and military alike.

In that sense, Pride Season is one way we practise our professional values: by showing up for one another, making room for different lived experiences, and continuing to build teams and units where people can serve with dignity, safety, respect, and authenticity.

This year's Public Service Pride Week theme, "Everybody In!", is a simple and powerful invitation. It reminds us that inclusion is not something we can admire from a distance. Pride includes 2SLGBTQI+ communities and their allies. Pride asks us to participate, to make room, to keep learning, and to cultivate a culture of true belonging for all.

There are many ways to take part in Pride Season. You can attend a local Pride parade, join a learning session, read about 2SLGBTQI+ history, support a colleague, use inclusive language, or reflect on how your team creates space for people to show up as themselves.

Defence Team members are encouraged to explore Pride events in their local communities, wings, and bases through the Public Service Pride Network, and through their local Defence Team Pride Advisory Organization (Available only on the National Defence Network).

Whether this is your first Pride Season or one of many, there is a place for you in the celebration, the learning, and the shared work of building a more respectful, inclusive and caring Defence Team.

This Pride Season, Everybody In!

Happy Pride!

Giancarlo Cerquozzi
(he/him)
National Civilian Co-Chair
Defence Team Pride Advisory Organization

Additional Pride and 2SLGBTQI+ Resources

• Pride Season Toolkit - Canada.ca
• CANFORGENS - Defence Team 2SLGBTQI(PLUS) Commemorations (Corrected Copy) (Available only on the National Defence Network)
• Diversity and Employment Equity - Defence Team (Available only on the National Defence Network)
• Positive Space - Defence Team
• LGBT Purge Fund
• Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan
• 2SLGBTQI+ - Women and Gender Equality Canada
• Unity Campaign - For a Better Together
• Public Service Pride Network Resources