Ottawa’s Pride parade ground to a halt on Sunday afternoon when Queers4Palestine protesters blocked the route and demanded to negotiate with parade organizers over their stance on the war in Gaza.

After nearly an hour of talks, and with the route still blocked, the two sides failed to reach an accommodation. Capital Pride, the event’s organizers, decided to cancel the remainder of the march.

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“We are bummed, of course, but we had a blast for the block and a half that we walked,” said Stefania Wheelhouse, who marched in the short-lived parade with a local theater company.

“We sang, we spread the word,” she told the Ottawa Citizen. “Everyone was so positive, so it was still a net win for us,” Wheelhouse said.

The atmosphere was less positive for parade and protest leaders, who tried and failed to come to terms over Israel’s continuing occupation of Gaza in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, and Capital Pride’s response.

Last year, the group was resolute in its support of Palestinians, issuing a letter that condemned both the “acts of terrorism” committed on October 7 by Hamas and Israel’s “endless and brutal campaign in Gaza,” which the letter said had caused the deaths of “innocent Palestinians.”

The Jewish Federation of Ottawa called the 2024 statement “antisemitic” and vowed to boycott last summer’s Pride parade in response. Other groups, and Ottawa’s mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, withdrew their support and sponsorship as well.

This year, that statement quietly disappeared from Capital Pride’s website.

“This is what a village looks like!” the pro-Palestinian protesters chanted from Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital, a reference to this year’s “We Are a Village” parade theme. The parade ground to a halt there, Q4P said, with the ascent of Grand Marshall Patience Plush.

Protesters unfurled Palestinian flags and a giant pink-and-black banner that read “All of us or none of us” and “Stonewall was an intifada.” Many signs read, “No pride in genocide.”

Demonstrators also chanted slogans including “Free, free Palestine!” “Long live the intifada!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Queers4Palestine issued several demands of Capital Pride, including a commitment to join the long-running boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

They also demanded that Mayor Sutcliffe and other elected officials publicly apologize for the 2024 boycott of Capital Pride and called on them to “stand with us and all oppressed peoples, including Palestinians.”

“We are in the parade today to affirm very clearly that our Pride is not for sale, and that 2SLGBTQIA+ communities will not accept sponsors and elected officials dictating what we stand for, how we celebrate ourselves, and how we claim our space,” a press release from the group said.

“CP had multiple discussions with those who boycotted over the last year, not with Q4P and allies. Why prioritize corporations and right-wing politicians over the queer community?” the group asked.

“CP’s board voted to publish last year’s solidarity statement. This year’s removal was not voted on. One board member even quit in protest.

“Mayor Sutcliffe and others boycotted Pride last year, hurting our community financially. Now he wants to show up without apology — using Pride for political gain,” the group said.

Capital Pride can’t say it wasn’t aware of Q4P’s demands. Sunday’s stoppage came after at least a week of public calls to reinstate the statement.

But Capital Pride organizers slow-walked a response, as former sponsors and Ottawa’s mayor returned in the absence of the polarizing document.

Belatedly, the group said it stood by the views expressed in last year’s letter about Israel’s actions in Gaza, and said the statement was missing online due to a website “refresh,” reiterating Executive Director Callie Metler’s description of the removal as part of the organization’s annual process of “refreshing their online environment.”

By that time, the parade had launched and was aborted.

Capital Pride released a “Clarification on Parade cancellation” message to social media that said that Q4P was marching in the parade as “guests invited by the parade garnd marshall,” before the group forced the parade to stop.

“As a community organization, we strive to engage with our community members in good faith and to balance the various interests and demands that are made of us while also organizing one of the largest festivals in our city,” the statement said. “Throughout the summer, we had several meetings with Q4P along with other community groups to discuss the issues that are important to them.

“Unfortunately, the group refused to have a meaningful discussion about how to move forward. After over an hour of attempting to resolve the stoppage, it became clear that Q4P was unwilling to engage in a good faith conversation and was insistent on misrepresenting our discussions.”

“Rerouting the parade mid-way was not possible and the street closures for the parade route were only permitted to 4:00 pm. Given the constraints we were facing and the nature of the discussion with Q4P, we were left with no other choice than to cancel the remainder of the parade.”

The message said that other parts of Ottawa’s Pride festivities would continue as planned. 

In a statement, Mayor Sutcliffe said it was “deeply regrettable that a group of activists chose to block the parade, ultimately leading Capital Pride officials to cancel the event.”

“My heart goes out to the many people in our city who were deprived of the opportunity to participate in this celebration of joy, resilience, and community.”