2022 Pride Toronto Guide

Toronto has reason to celebrate in 2022! UP Express welcomes the 2SLGBTQ+ community and allies back to the city safely with the return of in-person Pride celebrations, including Pride Toronto’s main event, the Pride Parade.

Metrolinx has participated in Pride since 2012, and is once again proud to be an official partner of Pride Toronto for this year’s celebration – no matter where you are or where you’re going, we’re happy to move with you. Beginning June 1 and featuring hundreds of events and more than 300 queer artists, party collectives and community programs throughout the month of June, this Toronto Pride Guide will help you get your Pride Month on.

Pride Toronto 2022 is welcoming visitors and partygoers back to the city following last year’s virtual festivities. This year marks the long-awaited return of Pride Toronto’s signature events including the annual Trans March, Dyke March, Blockorama by Blackness Yes!, Pride Parade, StreetFair, and multiple stages featuring over 300 2SLGBTQ+ artists. This year, Pride Toronto will ensure Pride Month and Festival Weekend will be organized in alignment with the City of Toronto’s Public Health recommendations so you can party safely.
No matter where your 2022 Pride Toronto plans take you, UP Express is proud to support your journey and safely connect our international visitors to queer communities across the region. With four convenient UP Express stations connecting Pearson International Airport, Weston, Bloor, and downtown Toronto’s Union Station, UP Express offers safe, affordable, and reliable connection options for all residents during Pride Month in addition to meaningful participation within the 2SLGBTQ+ community year-round. UP trains are running every 15 minutes between Pearson Airport to Union Station in downtown Toronto, Pride Toronto 2022 visitors and partygoers will be right in all the action.

Kicking things off on June 1 is the annual City of Toronto Flag Raising ceremony at City Hall as the city gets ready to celebrate the history, courage, and diversity of Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ communities all month long. Toronto Mayor John Tory will raise the Rainbow and Transgender flags at Toronto City Hall, welcoming locals and visitors of all ages to witness the event.

Routinely drawing more than one million attendees to Toronto, the month-long celebrations will cap off the Festival Weekend with one of Toronto’s biggest annual events, the Pride Parade on June 26.

New this year, Pride Toronto honours its political grassroots history and aligns with new sustainability efforts in eliminating the use of flatbed floats and gas-powered vehicles for the parade. Metrolinx is pleased to participate in environmental sustainability initiatives as a partner of Pride Toronto and will join the parade with a specially wrapped GO electric bus for Pride, along with a contingent of 200 employees marching alongside. The day before the big parade, the Toronto Dyke March welcomes all self-identified Dykes, Trans Dykes, non-binary Dykes and any other Dyke to join the annual demonstration with a host of performers, speakers and community activists.

Get ready to party during the biggest celebratory weekend in June with free performances. Who better to kick off Festival Weekend on Friday, June 24 than one of the biggest dancehall artists in the world, Grace Hamilton, aka Spice, who will perform for crowds. Over at the Yonge-Dundas Square stage a few blocks from UP Express Union Station, ballroom legends House of Miyake-Mugler will treat audiences to a free show-stopping vogue performance.
Canada’s Drag Race season 1 winner Priyanka and host of last year’s virtual Pride Parade brings her debut EP Taste Test live to the TD Main Stage on Sunday, June 26. Plus, Party collective Blackness Yes! hosts the annual Blockorama dance party. This year’s Blockorama host, Trinidadian soca artist Patrice Roberts will bring the party to the Bud Light Seltzer Wellesley Stage to wrap up Pride Toronto 2022.

Are you ready to party? Whether you want to dress to impress or soak up the sun at an outdoor beach party, Pride Toronto has you covered with three of the hottest events, all within easy access of UP Express Union Station or GO Transit Union Station.
Make a statement at the official kick-off party on June 8 – The Looking and Feeling Fierce Mini-Ball throws it back to the warehouse party days calling on revelers to go old-school glam, avant-garde, and fierce drag as you party down to house anthems and ballroom beats at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo.
On June 15 make a splash at Cabana Pool Bar’s pool party with hot drag performances from local legends Sofonda Cox, Luna Dubois, and Miss Fiercalicious as sexy gogo dancers work their way around the pool. DJs will keep the beat going until the sun goes down as The Ebony Enchantress herself, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 winner Symone, headlines the party.
Head over to the Toronto Islands to explore before joining the ultimate Pride day party at Gibraltar Point Beach on June 19 for Til Sunset: The Jam Down. The afternoon filled with fun in the sun features drinks and BBQ eats along with performances by Toronto’s favourite Kings and Queens including Jada Shada Hudson and Divine Darlin. With gorgeous views of the Toronto skyline, the party keeps going until the sun goes down with DJ headliners Craig Dominic and Carma.

Worth a visit on every trip to Toronto, the heart of Pride Toronto is The Village centred at Church Street and Wellesley Street, a pleasant 3km stroll from UP Express Union Station or GO Transit, or one-stop ride on TTC subway from Union Station. Be sure to check out the annual StreetFair during Festival Weekend June 24 to 25 which spans along Church St. from Hayden St. south to Dundas with food trucks, a market place, community-run organizations and a wellness zone. Not visiting during Festival Weekend? No problem! The Village is home to 2SLGBTQ+ restaurants, bars, businesses, artists, vendors, and community services run by queer folk and their allies that are worth checking out.

As always, Pride Toronto pays tribute to its activist and grassroots history by selecting a number of positions of honour.
This year, Pride Toronto is honoured to welcome Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, aka UK Black Pride’s Lady Phyll, as the festival’s Grand Marshal. A community organizer and executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust, an organization working to uphold the human rights of 2SLGBTQ+ people around the world.
Locally, this year’s Pride Toronto’s Charity of Choice is The Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP), Canada’s largest organization dedicated to mitigating the impacts of HIV/AIDS on Caribbean, African, and Black communities. Chosen by the community advisory panel, the organization provides a range of services and programs catered to the identities, experiences and needs of Toronto’s richly diverse Black population.

No matter what your plans look like, Metrolinx is honoured to be a part of your 2022 Pride Toronto journey. With safe, inclusive and convenient service, UP Express moves you from downtown Toronto’s Union Station to Pearson Airport in 25 minutes, with trains running every 15-minutes. Adult one-way ticket is only $12.35, purchase a ticket online, or through electronic ticket vending machines. UP Express also offers contactless payments via credit card, mobile wallet or PRESTO card.
Metrolinx is dedicated to supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community year-round, internally and across our system. We value the diversity of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve, and are committed to being leaders in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Metrolinx also has a robust Inclusion Strategy, which is supported by education, unconscious bias training (including 2SLGBTQ+ awareness), and clear harassment and discrimination policies.
For more Pride Month events and activities, check out the Toronto Pride Guide for a complete lineup of events from June 1 through 27th. Happy Pride, Toronto!