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Federal spending on sexual preference celebrations — specifically Pride-related initiatives — continues to climb, even while Canadians grapple with rising inflation, a national housing shortage, and overstretched healthcare systems.

What began as a weekend event has expanded into Public Service Pride — a taxpayer-funded, government-endorsed celebration of 2SLGBTQI+ identities that now stretches an entire ‘season,’ from June to September. While presented as a celebration of inclusivity and diversity, exclusive government documents show that the initiative is more costly than symbolic.

Rebel News obtained figures that paint a picture of bureaucratic excess, often with little accountability during Capital Pride involvement, through access to Information requests initially meant to unearth the federal government’s spending during Public Service Pride Week 2024.

In one instance, Amber Tremblay, a manager at Health Canada, requested Pride flag installation services totalling $11,450, plus an additional $5,250 for the flags themselves. A government float entry fee cost $850, while an $863 charge covered 54 attendees — many of them former public servants — simply to walk in the Capital Pride Parade.

Emails reveal enthusiasm among organizers within Health Canada’s Gender and Sexual Diversity Network (GSDN). One Program Officer, Sakina Ajjour, received confirmation for parade participation and responded with an email riddled with exclamation marks: “I hope you will be marching with us!!!!!!!!”

The costs don’t stop there.

A rainbow sidewalk came with a $15,470 price tag. Additional spending included $640 for ceremonial equipment, $1,000+ for flagpole rentals and installation labour, and nearly $10,000 on further flag purchases. Labour for flag ceremonies and building displays tallied $11,450, not including coordination costs and contingency fees.

Some of these expenditures come from the office of Carmen Barcena, Head of Ceremonial & Protocol Services, and appear to mimic protocols typically reserved for diplomatic ceremonies or Remembrance Day.

The government often frames these costs as part of its broader 2SLGBTQI+ Federal Action Plan — a multi-year strategy launched in 2022 to embed gender and sexual diversity considerations into all aspects of federal policy. The plan, which follows years of legal and political changes such as the 2017 formal apology to LGBTQ2 individuals and the criminalization of conversion therapy in 2022, is billed as “a guide to inspire and inform Canada’s actions toward equality.”

This increasingly reads like an ideology-driven overdo at the expense of essential services.

For instance, $8.2 million was recently allocated to “gender-just low-carbon rice programs in Vietnam” under the same framework — funding that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre highlighted as evidence of misplaced priorities during a time of national economic crisis.

While you can’t afford food, Mark Carney spends $8.2 million tax dollars on gender-just, low-carbon rice in Vietnam.

Can we really afford this Prime Minister? pic.twitter.com/o76rkRvWvT

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) October 6, 2025

Despite requesting all costs associated with Public Service Pride week, the government sent back only figures related to Capital Pride. This partial truth is a red flag, strongly suggesting that they’re hiding what taxpayers are really paying.

An appeal has since been filed because Canadians deserve to know exactly how much public money is being spent and not just what’s comfortable for the government to share.

When nearly $68,000 is spent on a single department’s Capital Pride initiatives — often signed off by high-level bureaucrats with minimal justification — one must ask: where is the line between inclusivity and indulgence?

While the federal government continues to cling to its diversity agenda, many Canadians are left wondering if symbolism has taken precedence over substance — and whether taxpayers can afford the cost.