JOHNSON: After four months of mandated psychosis, the divestment trend should continue

Morrigan Johnson is an independent journalist in Calgary. He is a researcher for and a member of the board of directors for LGB Alliance Canada.At this time, I haven’t seen a single credible response to the international credibility collapse after the release of the WPATH Files, or the CASS Final Report, as to why Pride should continue if the celebrations contain no social use, are causing harm, and there is severe backlash from funders above Pride and the grassroots below Pride. Perhaps things can still be reformed in the coming decade, but 2026 appears to be a growing flashpoint. Alberta became an early battleground as I noted one year ago that a Woke apocalypse was hitting the courts, but the use of the notwithstanding clause to protect children and women’s sports revealed just how serious the constitutional crisis is in Canada. Following an executive order in the US telling the corporate sector to stop backwards “discriminatory” DEI practices and return to a meritocratic or constitutional model, the widespread cross-border spillover of US-based companies operating in Canada has been more severe than last year. The collapse of Pride sponsorship is not caused by worsening economic conditions, but by a deliberate executive retreat from high-friction cultural-political ideological risk. According to the 20th annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study released in August 2026, overall corporate sponsorship spending in Canada reached an all-time high, with brand rights-fee investments rising 17% to $4.68 billion across 2025/2026 and the average brand allocating $10.2 million across its portfolio. Capital is abundant; however, corporate risk officers have systematically reallocated those funds away from social justice advocacy and redirected them into lower-risk, high-attribution properties — most notably directed to emerging professional women's sports leagues like the PWHL, the Northern Super League, and the WNBA's Toronto Tempo..In surveys of over 200 corporate executives, 39% planned to scale back Pride engagements, with 61% explicitly citing political pressure and government scrutiny as the primary catalyst. Compared to only 9% who reported scaling back in 2024. This US-centered research was used by Canadian journalists and Pride executives to explain why Canadian festivals were suddenly losing funding from American-owned subsidiaries, but the cross-border spillover needs more discussion.Across Canada, corporate divestment from Pride organizations has transitioned from isolated sponsor departures into a wide operational crisis, producing six-figure budget deficits for major urban centre Pride Organizations. Pride Toronto saw a $900,000 financial shortfall in 2025, and a $700,000-$800,000 ongoing gap in 2026 as Google, Home Depot, Nissan Canada, Adidas, and Clorox have scaled back. In 2025, Vancouver Pride saw a $400,000 financial shortfall from Lululemon, Walmart, and commercial partners scaling back, but had received a $75,000 emergency grant (bailout) from City Council for 2026. But in the 2026 season, the Vancouver Pride Society did not publish an isolated, standalone net deficit figure. Calgary Pride saw a $300,000 drop in their budget in 2025, cutting its Alphabet Mafia program to absorb the shortfall. Calgary Pride issued a formal release in 2026 stating it was in a "serious financial position" and facing an immediate operational crisis with a $250,000 shortfall, with emergency funding targets to avoid an organizational shutdown by 2027. Ottawa’s Capital Pride saw a severe multi-sector funding collapse being one of the most volatile in history. Facing widespread withdrawal following August 2024, when a pro-Palestinian group halted the parade, leading to it being cancelled..Earlier this year, speaking at a press conference, Kojo Modeste (Pride Toronto), Julie Nobert-DeMarchi (Fierté Timmins), Joseph Hoang (Vancouver Pride), and Callie Metler (Capital Pride) made a call for a federal funding bailout. Now, the problem with this is that grassroots lesbians, gays, and bisexuals are already making the case that government funding is out of control and should stop..At the end of August, I wrote a policy paper for LGB Alliance Canada criticizing the federal 2SLGBTQI+ action plan initiated in August of 2022 under the Liberal government. By mandating the ideological "Alphabet Umbrella" and foreclosing democracy, we’re seeing a level of spending that is unprecedented and creating a severe cultural backlash. Not many Canadians, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, consented to the laws the liberal government would pass. The $100 million plan includes $75 million for Community Organizations, $11.7 million for the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat, $7.7 million for data and the citation cartel, and $5.6 million for mandated ideological and behaviour modification like labelling critics as haters or encouraging compelled speech among supporters. In addition to the original 2022 allocation, the federal government announced $69.6 million in new post-launch commitments: $15 million in 2024 and $54.6 million in 2025..This isn’t easy on gay people in Canada. In fact, I think it has been very difficult. Statistics Canada data revealed a 388% increase in police-reported hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation between 2016 and 2023, peaking in 2023 (noted in the same paper mentioned above). Crucially, roughly 45% of these incidents are classified as “mischief," consisting heavily of crosswalk vandalism, tearing down Pride flags, and destroying public displays. The key argument here is that a severe backlash to experimental and extremist liberal policies did not have the consent or understanding of gay people, and has caused a backlash that is putting the community in harm's way. Namely the “Self-ID” Bill C-16 in 2017, ending a modern conception of law, and ushering in a postmodern era based on feelings and identity politics. Subsequent identity laws and identity policies have continued this trend across much of the Liberal decade, replacing modern sex based rights in many areas.While policy solutions are now becoming internationally known, such as Repath (2026 Re-Psychopathologization Campaign to reclassify transgender identification as a “mental disorder”), Mia Hughes, director of Genspect and senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, stated in an interview with world-famous philosopher Peter Boghossian, “Surgeons Are Removing Sexual Organs From Kids and Calling It Care”, that she fears being arrested in Canada for saying so, due to new hate speech laws (Bill C-9). Indeed, the basic right to freedom of expression needs to be addressed before Canadians can talk to each other again, let alone raise awareness around the real problems. Morrigan Johnson is an independent journalist in Calgary. He is a researcher for and a member of the board of directors for LGB Alliance Canada.

JOHNSON: After four months of mandated psychosis, the divestment trend should continue

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