Devon Banfield Now Toronto June 27, 2026

For newcomers like Rudolph Tomlinson and Pride Toronto Grand Marshal Mac-Darling Cobbinah, Pride Toronto is more than celebration — it’s visibility, safety, and a reminder of freedoms still out of reach for many around the world.

What to know

• Pride Toronto’s “My First Pride” contingent gives 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers their first opportunity to celebrate their identities publicly after arriving from countries where they faced criminalization, violence or stigma.

• Participants like Jamaica-born Rudolph Tomlinson describe the experience as liberating, marking a stark contrast between life in Jamaica and the freedom of marching openly in Toronto.

• Ghanaian human rights defender and 2026 Pride Toronto Grand Marshal Mac-Darling Cobbinah is using the platform to highlight ongoing persecution of queer people abroad, emphasizing Pride as both celebration and global advocacy.

For millions of people around the world, including right here in Toronto, Pride is a celebration. For others, it’s something they’ve never had the chance to experience.

While many Canadians can openly march through Toronto’s streets wrapped in rainbow flags, 2SLGBTQIA+ people in dozens of countries still face criminalization, violence and discrimination based on their gender identity or sexuality. For many 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers arriving in Canada from those places, Pride Toronto often marks the first time they’ve ever been able to celebrate their identities in public.

My First Pride Contingent

That experience is at the heart of Pride Toronto’s annual My First Pride contingent, a group that welcomes newcomers experiencing Pride celebrations for the very first time.

In 2024, Jamaica-born Rudolph Tomlinson led the contingent after arriving in Canada just months earlier.

“It was a sense of freedom, a sense of liberty, liberation,” Tomlinson told Queer & Now. “Being free to just not look over your shoulder, not to be traumatized, but to just be your authentic self.”

Growing up in Jamaica, Tomlinson said openly embracing his identity wasn’t something he always felt able to do. Walking through Toronto’s streets surrounded by cheering crowds was a completely different experience.

“I felt like a celebrity,” he laughed, recalling the reaction from spectators as the contingent made its way down Yonge Street.

Today, the My First Pride contingent brings together newcomers from dozens of countries, with Tomlinson explaining many of whom are escaping persecution or seeking a safer place to live.

“It’s important because you get that opportunity to be recognized as a newcomer,” Tomlinson said. “A space is created for me… That’s a sense of freedom. That’s a sense of empowerment.”

Toronto Pride Grand Marshal: Mac-Darling Cobbinah

That same message is echoed by this year’s Pride Toronto Grand Marshal, Mac-Darling Cobbinah.

A pioneering 2SLGBTQIA+ human rights defender from Ghana and executive director of the Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights (CEPEHRG), Cobbinah has spent more than two decades advocating for Queer communities while navigating threats, discrimination and increasing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in his home country.

Being named Grand Marshal, he said, is about far more than leading a parade.

“It’s about how to tell the story, how to get help for your community, how to get attention to your community,” Cobbinah said. “How to get people to focus on other parts of the world.”

Now, as Pride Toronto’s 2026 Grand Marshal, he’s using one of the world’s largest Pride celebrations to shine a light on the realities facing LGBTQ+ communities across Africa.

“I’m here to tell the story of what African queer people are going through,” Cobbinah said. “The security challenges, the legal challenges, the economic challenges.”

Cobbinah has been involved in 2SLGBTQIA+ activism since 2004. Rather than focusing solely on advocacy, his organization combines human rights work with public health initiatives, offering HIV prevention services, connecting community members with healthcare and legal support, and helping build new Queer-focused organizations throughout Ghana. He says empowering local leaders has always been central to the work.

“Everybody has a voice,” he said. “Everybody can challenge.”

And that work has become increasingly urgent in recent years.

Ghana’s controversial anti-2SLGBTQIA+ bill has heightened fears among Queer Ghanaians, while activists continue to face harassment and threats. Cobbinah says his daily life often involves carefully watching his surroundings, changing his routes to work and remaining alert to people who may be following him. 

“My prayer is that there will be a time when no Queer person will want to be running to the West to seek asylum because they don’t feel safe,” he said.

For Cobbinah, visiting Toronto has also been a reminder of freedoms that many people still cannot safely express at home.

“When I get here, I see people enjoying themselves and dancing. I want to enjoy and dance too,” he said. “But I don’t want to get too used to the freedom.”

As Pride Toronto celebrates its 45th anniversary, both men say the festival remains about much more than colourful floats and celebrations. For newcomers arriving from countries where simply existing as a 2SLGBTQIA+ can be dangerous, the parade represents safety, visibility and hope.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate who you are,” Tomlinson said. “It’s an opportunity to keep the fight going.”

Source: https://nowtoronto.com/culture/my-first-pride-newcomers-and-activists-on-what-visibility-safety-and-celebrating-pride-really-mean/