Rainbow Pride flag going back up in Val-David after being vandalized 3 times in a week

Rainbow flags to mark Pride week were vandalized three times in a week in the Village de Val-David municipality in the Laurentians, north of Montreal.

The mayor of Val-David, Jean-Claude Rocheleau, said on July 27 the bottom of the rainbow flag hanging outside the petite gare de Val-David, on de l’Église Street, was cut.

The following night, the rest of the flag was cut off and burnt, he told CityNews.

The municipality replaced the flag on Aug. 3, and that night it was vandalized again, pulled off the building and ripped in two, Rocheleau said.

“I was very disappointed about the vandalism in Val-David because I never thought that that would happen,” the mayor said. “The people in Val-David are very open-minded. So I was very surprised.”

“It’s a minority in Val-David also, but it’s not representing our population. That’s for sure.”

The mayor said the cases have been reported to the Sûreté du Québec.

The building does have cameras but they did not catch the actions on tape because of the angle. Rocheleau says more cameras will be installed and police presence will be increased.

He adds the flag will be replaced again. “We told the police, we will put back the flag as many times as we’re going to need.”

“A member of the LGBTQ+ came to see me yesterday. And we had discussions around that. They were very happy that we decided to put back the flag after the first incident. And I told them that we’re going to put a flag again this week for the rest of the week.”

Alain Dorval, who started the “Queers des Laurentides” Facebook group, says the Pride flag is more than just a flag, and putting it back up is a symbol in itself.

“It’s a strong message that we should not surrender to this type of event,” Dorval said. “We should always continue because removing the flag would be an acceptance that they won. And we don’t want that. We want to feel safe and we want to feel included in the community.”

‘A sad reminder’

Higino Monteiro, the interim general director of Fierté Montréal, says what happened in Val-David is “deeply troubling.”

“I’m sad that in 2026 LGBTQ+ people and our symbols are still targeted simply for affirming that we belong here,” Monteiro said. “We strongly condemn these acts. The rainbow flag tells someone you are safe here, you are welcome here, so we have to stay united.”

“It’s a reminder that Pride is still useful for people because Pride has always been a protest response to discrimination and hatred. So I think we are still here for a reason and we have to continue to protest and continue the fight because we cannot take our rights for granted. So we have to continue to protest for that. So I think, it’s a sad reminder.”

In its initial Facebook post — prior to the vandalism — the municipality said the flag was installed to mark Pride week.

“This symbolic gesture reflects our desire to contribute to a welcoming, open, and inclusive community where everyone can be their true selves,” the post reads.

Several hateful comments were left on that Facebook post. Rocheleau believes they came from people living outside Val-David.

“We want to be sure that people, everyone knows that the community in Val-David is very open to that community,” Rocheleau said.

Dorval says he has also faced hateful messages online when he first started started the “Queers des Laurentides” Facebook group.

“When we started organizing events, there was on social media a negative reaction,” Dorval said. “To the point that at some point I was questioning myself if we should cancel the event.”

The municipality says the new flag will be back up Wednesday afternoon.