Conservative MP Jamil Jivani leaves after a meeting of the Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 6, 2025. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani says MPs should not have to justify their absence from Pride parades, rather, it is the responsibility of politicians to clarify their reasons for participating in such events.
“We should never accept a political culture in which politicians have to answer questions about NOT attending events like this,” he said in a June 29 X post. “Those who attend should be the ones answering questions.”
Jivani was reacting to a photo of Prime Minister Mark Carney marching in the Toronto Pride Parade on June 28, where he stopped to shake the hand of a man dressed in a “pup play” dog costume. Pup play is a form of role-play in which participants take on canine personas and is often associated with BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism).
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not attend any Pride events in 2025 or 2026. When a reporter asked him on June 25 if he planned to attend any events, he responded “I’m not planning to” and “it’s just not on my plan.”
The Liberal Party put out a video on X June 30 that contrasted Poilievre’s comments about not attending Pride with footage of Carney marching in the Toronto Pride Parade. The video caption read, “Standing up for Canadians’ rights and equality — always in our plan.”
In a follow-up video on June 30, Jivani said he believed it was “shameful that we have a prime minister shaking hands with half-naked dudes wearing perverted costumes at a [Pride] parade.” Jivani also raised concerns that there were children present at the event.
Poilievre also reacted to the news on June 19 that Trillium Woods Elementary School in Barrie, Ont., had chosen to fly a Pride flag instead of the Canadian flag in June.
“When I’m prime minister, we will fly the Canadian flag everywhere and always. We should never take down the Canadian flag for any reason,” he said.
Poilievre added that all Canadians should be treated equally, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, “or any other irrelevant characteristic.”
