Clinton Council declares June Pride Month following Council discussion

Clinton council has officially declared June 2026 as Pride Month after receiving a request from Huron County Pride and holding a discussion on whether the municipality should also raise the Pride flag.

The request came in the form of a letter from Huron County Pride, which asked council to both proclaim June as Pride Month and raise the Pride flag within the municipality during the month of June.

In the letter, the organization said the gesture would demonstrate support for 2SLGBTQIA+ residents, workers, and visitors while recognizing the important contributions they make to the community through arts, culture, agriculture, businesses, volunteer organizations, and faith communities.

Huron County Pride also pointed to continued challenges facing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, citing national hate crime statistics and local survey results from Perth-Huron that showed many respondents had experienced discrimination or felt unsafe or unwelcome in the area.

The organization noted raising the Pride flag would send a message that the municipality values diversity, inclusion, and safety for all residents.

During council discussion, Councillor Jennifer Cox spoke in favour of both declaring Pride Month and flying the Pride flag somewhere in the community, advising its “a positive thing to do.” She noted neighbouring municipalities and organizations — including Ontario Provincial Police and local school boards within Huron County — have already shown support through similar displays.

Mayor Jim Ginn said the municipality’s rainbow-lit tunnel already serves as a highly visible symbol of support during Pride.

“The light tunnel is in the pride colours for the month, and I think that’s way more visible than flying a flag,” Ginn said during the discussion.

Deputy Mayor Marg Anderson asked staff to clarify the municipality’s current flag policy. Staff explained the policy allows for the flying of the Canadian, Ontario, Central Huron, and County Huron flags, as well as other flags approved by the municipality, depending on available flag poles.

Councillor Colquhoun questioned where council should “draw the line” regarding additional flag requests, expressing concern over how the municipality determines which flags may or may not be displayed.

Mayor Ginn acknowledged there would be differing opinions within the community on the issue. While supporting the declaration of Pride Month, he expressed uncertainty about flying the Pride flag itself.

Deputy Mayor Marg Anderson suggested council proceed by declaring June as Pride Month while continuing to recognize Pride through the municipality’s rainbow-coloured light tunnel display rather than a flag raising.

Council ultimately carried the motion to officially declare June as Pride Month in the municipality.