Toronto’s Pride 2025 festival is in peril after three of its sponsors pulled their funding amid a massive corporate push against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the U.S.
Kojo Modeste, executive director at Pride Toronto, told the Star that the companies, which operate on both sides of the border, have informed Pride Toronto that “they will no longer be supporting Pride because their mandate has changed.”
“We strongly believe that it has a lot to do with the shift that we’re seeing happening in the U.S.,” added Modeste.
Facing public pressure, a wave of American companies, including Meta, Google and Walmart, have been pulling back DEI efforts aimed at reducing barriers for marginalized groups within corporations. The movement gained greater traction after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January banning such programs in the U.S. government, calling them “illegal” and “discriminatory.”
Pride Toronto, the non-profit organization behind the annual 2SLGBTQI+ parade, did not disclose the names of the sponsors as it hopes to persuade them to continue their funding.
It did say that two sponsors were “gold” partners, contributing at least $150,000 in cash and in-kind goods, and another was “silver,” contributing more than $100,000.
Modeste also said that other corporations have reduced their commitments this year for reasons that could be related to the DEI backlash.
Due to a lack of funds and rising costs to support the festival, Torontonians should expect a reduced number of events and stages during Pride 2025 in June, said Modeste. More than half of Pride Toronto’s yearly income of approximately $5.5 million comes from sponsors.
“Every time a sponsor drops (out) or reduces the amount they give to us, it means that we have to go back to the drawing board,” said Modeste. “And this is concerning. Being the largest pride in North America, the second largest in the world, if it is impacting us this much, I could only imagine how it’s impacting some of the smaller prides who have a lot less resources available to them.”
Despite the backlash, other cross-border organizations have confirmed their support for Pride Toronto 2025.
That includes top sponsor TD Bank. “We’ve supported Toronto Pride for 20 years and are continuing to support them this year,” a TD spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“We’re very grateful,” said Modeste. “However, the ongoing concern isn’t just losing sponsors, but will we be able to get new sponsors?”
This is a developing story.