Ingersoll mayor describes ugly clashes at ‘drag queen storytime’ events in Oxford

A Southwestern Ontario mayor is denouncing protesters who disrupted two weekend events during which drag performers read books to kids, saying he still hasn’t processed the conduct he witnessed.

Families gathered at the Oxford County Library branches in Ingersoll and Tillsonburg at different times on Saturday for the Pride Month event dubbed drag queen storytime, which features books about acceptance, diversity and inclusion.

Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie said he attended both events to support inclusivity and the LGBTQ community, calling it the “most eye-opening, charged, happy, sad, hateful, and prideful day” of his political career.

“I still haven’t fully processed that day,” Petrie wrote in a statement released Monday. “I saw things that I hoped I would never see.”

Libraries have hosted drag storytime events for years, most without incident. But the program has become increasingly targeted by anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans demonstrators in cities across Canada and worldwide.

Saturday, as tensions flared between protesters and LGBTQ community supporters during a drag storytime event in London, similar disruptions were happening in Ingersoll and Tillsonburg.

Petrie described seeing adults yelling at children and their families, a group flashing “white power symbols” and spouting “vile” comments, and grown men trying to take over the children’s area and argue with police while holding bibles.

“In short,” he said, “I saw a group of people demonstrate that they only care about their beliefs and not the right of others to have their own. A group that was only there to show ignorance and hate towards something they couldn’t understand.”

His remarks were echoed in a social media post from Oxford County Pride, whose members described the behaviour as “intrusive, abusive and frightening,” especially for younger children.

Despite the pushback, Petrie said the event had “another side” – one celebrating inclusivity and diversity. He applauded the politicians who attended in support, including several area councillors and Oxford County Warden Marcus Ryan, and the “proud parents,” performers, library staff and members of the LGBTQ community who remained calm.

Ontario provincial police officers stepped in multiple times to keep protesters away, he noted. It was not clear whether any arrests had been made.

Oxford County Library will host a drag storytime event for Pride Family Day at Museum Square in Woodstock at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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