Toronto Pride events lose corporate sponsorships after backlash

Executive Director Kojo Modeste confirmed that Adidas has not renewed its sponsorship for Pride 2025, joining Nissan Canada, which earlier this year also pulled its funding, citing a “re-evaluation” of marketing priorities. Both companies had previously been “gold-level” sponsors, a designation requiring at least $150,000 in cash or in-kind contributions, according to a report by the Toronto Star.

“We’re committed to our program lineup, our festival is fully planned out, so we are ready to go,” Modeste said. “We know there is going to be a shortfall and I’m working with the board to address those pieces.”

The loss of these sponsors comes amid a broader shift in corporate sentiment towards DEI initiatives. Many American companies such as Meta, Google, Walmart, and Target have scaled back diversity programs in recent months, particularly in the wake of the Trump administration’s executive order targeting DEI initiatives in the federal government.

Canadian businesses have begun to follow suit. The Abnormal Beauty Company reduced its sponsorship from gold-level to a lower category. Modeste declined to comment directly on whether this decision was related to DEI backlash but added, “I’m grateful that they’re still supporting us.”

“We believe that a lot of what we saw in the U.S. has impacted us,” Modeste admitted. “But we know that Canadian values are way more than that, and we believe that Canadian values will stand and will prevail.”

In February, Pride Toronto announced it would reduce the number of stages and events at this year’s festival due to sponsorship losses. Modeste shared that four new Toronto-based companies and two unions have joined as sponsors in recent months, but the festival still anticipates a funding gap. Because of this, Pride Toronto will feature a program for attendees to make donations.

“We’ll continue to seek sponsorship right up until the festival weekend,” said Modeste.