The 30th annual Pride Parade in the capital of British Columbia packed the streets in the downtown core.
More than 70,000 people were estimated to be at the massive parade.
Victoria Pride Society puts on the event.
“The response (has been) phenomenal. We actually had more than 160 entries (for the parade). Unfortunately not everyone made it in because we like to keep the parade shorter than three hours long,” the organization said.
“The response is incredible to see the organizations and businesses that want to be involved.”
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As the parade began, it was delayed and rerouted due to a pro-Palestinian protest group.
The pro-Palestinian group of protesters parked themselves in the middle of Humboldt Street and would not move or let the parade pass.
A few dozen protesters were seen with masks and signs such as, “Queer Jews say no pride in genocide.”
Global News received an email from the apparent pro-Palestinian group, who called themselves “Queers Against Pinkwashing.”
“We, an autonomous group of queers living on the unceded land of lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples, are here to disrupt a pride parade happening during the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people by the zionist entity,” the email said.
“We are here in the true spirit of Pride and reject a celebration of queer life and identity that is complicit in the genocide of Palestinian people.”
The parade was reportedly delayed by at least 30 minutes.
Victoria police were unavailable for an interview but did respond via email.
“A group of about 40 people blocked and disrupted the parade today, which caused us to reroute the parade. Although there were some minor interactions, the group dispersed within about 40 minutes without significant incident,” a spokesperson said.
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