Justin Trudeau Becomes First Prime Minister to March in LGBT Pride

Over the weekend, the Toronto Pride Parade made headlines with a very special guest: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau made history at the event by being the country’s first sitting Prime Minister to march in the parade. Per the Ottawa Citizen:

Other notable politicians marching include Ontario’s premier, Kathleen Wynne, and the mayor of Toronto, John Tory.

Before the parade, Trudeau attended an outdoor church service in the heart of the city’s gay village where he sang along to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

The parade wraps up a month of Pride festivities in Toronto, which saw entertainment heavyweights like George Takei and Lindsay Lohan participate.

But the month has also been shadowed with grief. In early June, 49 people — who were predominantly LGBTQ people of colour — were killed in a mass-shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

The month’s celebrations were dedicated to the victims of the massacre, and there will be a moment of silence during today’s parade to remember them.

Shots of Trudeau at Pride have flooded social media since the parade. From LGBT police officers to parade entertainers, everyone wanted a picture with he prime minister. No one  was more thrilled to snag a photo with Trudeau than Bassel McLeash, a gay Syrian refugee. McLeash expertly photo-bombed the Prime Minister and now his story has gone viral too! “Not in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought about having a day like this, marching next to the prime minister or marching in a Pride,” he said in an interview with CBC.