Pride Halton Founder Talks Evolution of Her Group

When Pride Halton founder Melanie Tremills moved to Canada from the UK eighteen years ago, she noticed a startling similarity between Halton and her first home: there weren't enough safe spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and community members.

"I came out very late in life," said Tremills. "There was nothing around me — no gay culture. I didn't know where to go to find any connection in the community."

Shortly after moving to Canada, Tremills joined the Halton Catholic District School Board as an educational assistant. Working with young people in this role provided her with the inspiration to create Pride Halton.

From PRISM to Pride Halton

After many students approached Melanie about a rainbow badge she wore on her lanyard, Tremills realized that young people in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community needed a way to connect with each other in a safe and inclusive environment. PRISM was born from that idea and began as a Facebook group for queer youth.

"I felt there was a massive need for the children to have a connection somehow, and that's why I started PRISM," Tremills said.

PRISM grew from an online space into a community network that organized social events, arranged Milton's first Pride flag raising and eventually launched Halton's first Pride parade four years ago.

"It became easier to be known as Pride Halton. We wanted to make sure everyone knew it was incorporating the whole of Halton," Tremills said.

Organizing the Parade & Pride in the Park

Every July, Pride Halton puts on the only Pride parade in the region. The streets of Milton come alive with colour, music, and cheers as community groups, local leaders, and hundreds of others proudly march for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and equality.

Last year Pride Halton introduced Pride in the Park, a festival after the parade. Pride in the Park was a big hit in 2025 with over 1,700 queer community members, friends, and allies gathering at the Milton Fairgrounds to celebrate. This Sunday, Pride Halton has organized another fantastic celebration with live entertainment, a vendor market, food trucks and so much more.

Pictured above: Pride Halton founder Melanie Tremills with Members of Parliament Kristina Tesser Derksen and Adam van Koeverden at a Pride Halton celebration.

Melanie Tremills leads a team of volunteers and board members who pull together to pull the whole thing off every year. "As executive director, I do a bit of everything," said Tremills. "But we have so many incredible volunteers and incredible board members. So, we do share the responsibility."

Since Pride Halton is a non-profit, volunteer-run group, its board members and leaders mostly work full-time jobs during the week, or they come from the retirement community. High-school aged volunteers collect hours towards their graduation.

Melanie noted her biggest challenge is trying to fit Pride Halton in with her other jobs especially in the demanding months leading up to and including Pride season in June and July. Still, she said the effort is worthwhile because Pride Halton gives queer people a place to feel seen — something she and many others in the community wish they'd had when they were younger.

"The community itself — just letting them know there's a space for them — is exactly why we do what we do," she said.