Justin Trudeau makes historic visit to Canadian gay bar
Justin Trudeau in gay bar the Fountainhead Pub in Vancouver (Twitter)
Justin Trudeau has made history by becoming the first Canadian head of government to make an official visit to a gay bar.
The Canadian Prime Minister dropped in to the Fountainhead Pub in Vancouver yesterday evening to mark the beginning of Pride week in the city, City News 1130 reports.
In video footage circulated online, Trudeau can be seen walking into the outside seating area of the gay bar to a startled crowd who gave him a round of applause. He then moves through the crowd, shaking hands and taking photos with the bar’s customers.
Justin Trudeau spent 15 minutes in the gay bar
In another video, Trudeau can be seen walking around the bar’s interior and shaking hands and taking photos with customers. He reportedly spent 15 minutes in total in the bar.
News Director at News1130 Charmaine de Silva tweeted: “People genuinely happy to see @JustinTrudeau as he visits the Fountainhead Pub, in the heart of Vancouver’s gay village.”
Trudeau shared a photo on his official Twitter account of the visit and wrote: “Vancouver is gearing up for #Pride weekend right now, but the spirit of pride and inclusivity is strong here all year long! Thanks to the folks at @fountainheadVAN for the warm welcome today.”
Trudeau has become well-known for his vocal support of the LGBT+ community
This is not the first time Trudeau has made waves in the LGBT+ community. Last summer, he marched in Montreal Pride alongside his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski.
He has been vocal in his support for LGBT+ rights since becoming Prime Minister in 2015. In 2016, he became the first Canadian head of government to take part in Toronto’s annual Pride parade.
Vancouver is gearing up for #Pride weekend right now, but the spirit of pride and inclusivity is strong here all year long! Thanks to the folks at @fountainheadVAN for the warm welcome today.
In recent years, he has attended Pride events in Halifax and Vancouver and raised the Pride flag above Parliament Hill. In 2017, he offered an apology in parliament to Canada’s LGBT+ community for a campaign by previous governments to rid the military and public service of queer people.
“This is the devastating story of people who were branded criminals by the government – people who lost their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives,” he said at the time.
“These aren’t distant practices of governments long forgotten. This happened systematically, in Canada, with a timeline more recent than any of us would like to admit.”
