An Open Letter To Toronto Pride Sponsors Who Bailed On Us

A Betrayal, A Fugly Look, And Such Bad Business

Dear Google, Home Depot, Nissan, Clorox, Adidas et al: Your Toronto Pride Pullout is a Bad Look—and Worse Business

To the suits in boardrooms of the aforementioned brands who decided to quietly step back from Toronto Pride this year: Shame on you. You left a struggling festival - a major influence on the city’s economy, one that also brings in a half a billion dollars to the GDP and over $200 million in taxable revenue - short almost a million dollars.

Are you proud?

You were oh-so happy to slap rainbows on your logos when it was easy. When Pride was a guaranteed PR win, you paraded alongside us, waving flags, issuing statements about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and hiring drag queens for office selfies. You celebrated your “allyship” with choreographed sincerity. And we, the ever-appreciative and cautiously trusting SSLGBTQ+ community, welcomed you. We were hopeful. We believed - again: cautiously - that perhaps you meant what you said.

We believed you saw our humanity.

But when the wind shifted—when being seen supporting SSLGBTQ+ people became politically uncomfortable—you did what many of your ilk have done this year: retreated. You hid. You ghosted. Not even a breakup text.

“We believe there is a direct connection between the policies that we’re seeing coming out of the White House and the organizations that are pulling out,” Pride Toronto’s executive director Kojo Modeste has said. “When you look at some of the policies and statements that some U.S. CEOs have made, they’re directly attacking the 2SLGBTQIA community.”

Pulling out of the largest Pride festival in North America in 2025 doesn’t just make you look weak. It makes you look opportunistic and transactional. You’ve now told us, loud and clear, in no uncertain terms, that your support for our community was always conditional. That our identities were good for business—until they weren’t. And now that the spotlight includes difficult conversations, complexities, and yes, backlash from loud corners of the internet or political spheres, you’re gone, like a bad trick in the night.

Let’s be clear: this is not just a betrayal. It’s bad business.

Only a self-loathing queer would give their money to you now.

The SSLGBTQ+ community has long demonstrated fierce brand loyalty. According to recent studies, SSLGBTQ+ consumers and allies represent billions in purchasing power in Canada alone. We notice who shows up, and we remember who doesn’t. Your absence from Pride this year isn’t neutral—it’s a message. And that message reads: “We were only here for the photo op.”

Queers and their allies have seen this pattern before. Rainbow capitalism—brands using Pride to boost their image—was always a slippery slope. But you’ve now slid right into the territory of performative allyship turned cowardice. And this time, you and your cohorts abandoning Prides everywhere are not just damaging your reputation among SSLGBTQ+ people—you’re alienating the millions of allies who see through your sudden abandonment.

Let’s also talk about what this looks like to the employees within your companies who are SSLGBTQ+. What does it say to them when their own employer won’t stand behind the community they belong to? When their lived experiences become too "controversial" to be supported? Your silence tells queer employees that their identities are an HR liability, not an asset. It breeds distrust, disillusionment, and disconnection inside your own crummy walls. Have fun with that when it comes time to worry about employee satisfaction, work output, and talent retention.

And what about the role corporations play in shaping culture? You’re quick to pat yourselves on the back for “leading conversations,” “pushing boundaries,” and “driving change.” But when the opportunity came to actually do that —to lead, now, in these incredibly challenging times for queer people everywhere —you faltered. Look at the plight of trans people here and in the US. Look at the attacks on drag queens, look at how the groomer and pedo tropes are being used against queens and gay men again. Just this week, Southern Baptists, whose faith includes over 12 million members in the US, have endorsed a ban to end same-sex marriage in America; just look! You could have led with us, instead you’re all just pathetic pussies scurrying away.

Pride isn't just a party; it’s a protest, a declaration, a lifeline. It’s visibility in a world that still, too often, tells us to be invisible. And in 2025, when anti-SSLGBTQ+ sentiment is rising globally, visibility matters more than ever. Now is not the time to step back. It’s the time to double down.

To those companies who did stay, who did show up—thank you. Thank you TD Bank, Rogers, Air Canada, Smirnoff, and all others found here. You will have earned not just market share but something far more valuable: Trust. Loyalty. Respect.

But to the ones who quietly bowed out: what exactly is your brand about, if not standing for something when it’s hard?

Don’t think we won’t remember. We always do. Only a self-loathing queer would give their hard-earned money to you now.

The next time you want our community’s time, talent, creativity, loyalty, or money—expect to be met with questions. With scrutiny. With standards you failed to meet this June. As Pride Toronto’s Modesto put it: “You don’t walk away from us when our house is on fire and when we rebuild, you try to come back. For the ones that walked away today—they’re going to have to demonstrate they are ready and have done the work in order to come back.”

You want to be on the right side of herstory? Then act like it.

And in the future —IF you’re lucky enough to be invited back—come back not because it’s easy, but because it’s right - and because you’ve grown a pair.

Sincerely,
A Proud Gay Man Who Is Revolted By Your Sad, Weak, Predictable Choices

Shaun Proulx hosts The Shaun Proulx Show heard weekends on SiriusXM Canada Talks 167. You can listen to it on this Substack as well. More: ShaunProulx.com