Montréal Pride, presented by TD, is proud to announce its Grand Marshals and Guests of Honour for the festival’s 9th edition, which will be held from August 10 to 16, 2015. These women and men from around the world have each contributed in their own way to the respect for diversity and the advancement of LGBT human rights. Montréal Pride is also pleased welcome Jasmin Roy as a volunteer spokesperson for a 7^th

Montréal Pride 2015 Grand Marshals:

Montréal Pride 2015 Guests of Honour:

Actor, radio and television host, author and director, Jasmin Roy has always championed the cause of social recognition for the LGBT communities, that’s why he accepted for a seventh consecutive year to get involved with Montréal Pride as a volunteer spokesperson. On top of working on various projects to be announced later this fall, Jasmin is also directing the play Ma première fois, currently on tour everywhere in Quebec.

Candis made her name in 2007 for playing the role of Carmelita alongside William Baldwin in the popular series Dirty Sexy Money on ABC television. This role made Cayne the first transgender actress to play a recurring character on an American prime time television series. Candis Cayne will be hosting the Paradise Village show on August 14 at 8 pm at Place Émilie-Gamelin.

Anna has been vice president of the "Sphere" women’s association in Kharkiv, Ukraine, since 2007. Its main activities focus on feminism and the lesbian rights movement. In 2014, she joined the organizing committee of KyivPride and, in 2015, became the head of the organization’s management team. Montréal Pride walked alongside KyivPride during the March for Equality in June 2015. The event ended in bloodshed, homemade bombs and violence.

Since 1986, Monique Giroux has dedicated herself to the promotion of French-language song. A Radio-Canada host, producer, writer and show designer, she is also spokesperson for Fondation Émergence and for Gai-Écoute. In 2015, her civic involvement and the creation of the Québec version of the Couples Imaginaires exhibition earned her the Laurent McCutcheon Award for the fight against homophobia and transphobia.

Dr. Montoro is a psychiatrist at the McGill University Health Centre. His work focusses primarily on the mental health care of LGBT people and those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. To this end, he co-founded the McGill University Sexual Identity Centre (MUSIC) in 1999, the only academic centre of its kind in Canada, for which he earned the Innovation of the Year prize in 2000 from the AMPQ (l’Association des médecins psychiatres du Québec).

Linda Dawn Hammond, photographer, director and journalist

Linda Dawn Hammond has been at the centre of many significant demonstrations, including the turbulent events that unfolded in the wake of the Sex Garage incident, a watershed moment for LGBT activism in Montréal. Ms. Hammond narrowly managed to immortalize the violence of this homophobic police raid in photographs while struggling to protect her camera from police batons. A free outdoor exhibition of her work will be presented from August 12 to 16 at Place Émilie-Gamelin to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this milestone event.

Hubert Lavallée Bellefleur studied Theatrical Performance at the Conservatoire Lassalle. In 2015, he starred in the popular Québec movie Aurélie Laflamme : les pieds sur terre in the role of the gay teenager, Jean-Félix. Everyone is invited to meet and chat with him during Pride, especially on Kids’ Day, which will take place August 13 at Place Émilie-Gamelin.

Dax Dasilva is the CEO of Lightspeed POS, a software design company born in the Montréal’s Gay Village. He is also the founder of Never Apart, an NPO established to create social change and spiritual awareness through major programs with global impact. As part of Montréal Pride, Never Apart will produce the Paradise Village show, which will be presented on Friday night.

Francis (Penasis) Ishpatau is a councillor from the Natashquan Aboriginal community. With a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from the University of Ottawa and the Institut Tshakapesh, he has lived more than half his life outside his community to acquire the non-Aboriginal knowledge and tools needed to represent the Innu (Montagnais) as a political adviser. His goals are the survival of a proud and strong Innu nation, and the promotion of its socio-economic and community development.

Montréal Pride is honoured to count on the invaluable support of its partners, participants and volunteers, without whom the festival would not be possible each year: TD Bank Group, Official Presenter of Montréal Pride; Viagra, the Official Presenter of the Pride Parade; the Gouvernement du Québec; the City of Montréal; Tourisme Montréal, Québecor, Canadian Heritage, Ubisoft and Fugues magazine.

Founded in 2007 as an initiative of Montréal’s LGBT communities, Montréal Pride is now the largest LGBT gathering in the Francophone world. The organization’s primary mission is to support and promote local LGBT communities while serving as a beacon of hope for people around the world who continue to battle injustice. Each year, Montréal Pride attracts close to 400,000 local and international visitors during a week of cultural and Community activities, including the Pride Parade and Community Day. In 2015, the Montréal Pride festival will be held from August 10 to 16. More information about Montréal Pride is available on the Montréal Pride website. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@fierteMTLpride).