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A somewhat surprising piece of history will be made this weekend at Toronto's annual Pride Parade, the cherry on top of a weeklong festival celebrating gay rights and equality.
Kathleen Wynne, Ontario's openly gay premier, will march in the downtown parade. That's nothing new; she and her wife Jane Rounthwaite do it every year.
This year, however, will be different. She'll be doing it as the leader of the province, and she will be the first sitting premier to march in the history of the parade
"Well it's part of summer you know," Wynne recently told the Canadian Press.
"Every year I take part in the Pride events. Jane and I go to the Pride and Remembrance run on Saturday morning. I go to the church service, which is always very, very moving, on Sunday morning, and of course I walk in the parade."
It seems so simple, just another stroll. It almost makes you wonder how no other premier has ever managed to make the trek.
Former premier Dalton McGuinty participated in Pride festivities, but never marched in the parade. Former Toronto mayors have almost always marched, which led to criticism when current Mayor Rob Ford made a habit of skipping the week entirely.
This year, Ford participated in his first Pride Week event as sitting mayor. He watched the honourary flag rise outside City Hall. He still won't march (due to prior family commitments, he says), but he has now participated.
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