Surrey LGBTQ+ groups celebrate resilience following rainbow crosswalk vandalism

Published 4:00 pm Friday, June 19, 2026

“We’re here, we’re Queer, we’re not going anywhere,” is Sher president Annie Ohana’s message to the men who vandalized the rainbow crosswalk in Surrey a few weeks before.

After the Pride flag was raised at City Hall on Friday (June 19), along with Ohana, Surrey Pride founder Martin Rooney, president Donald Crowe, Senator Baltej Dhillon, and other community members made the short walk to the rainbow crosswalk on University Drive.

A few weeks before, several people visited the sidewalk and spray-painted black lines and circles across it. The so-called “protest” was advertised on social media beforehand, and they posted a video of the incident online.

One individual has since been arrested, and charges have been forwarded to the Crown.

Ohana said in reference to the videos, “We’re taking pictures (today) because they’re allowed to post hate, so we can post love.”

“These rainbow crosswalks are not the only thing we want, right? We need policy, we need safety, we need joy, we need all of it, but to have this here in the centre of town is incredibly important,” she said.

Ohana added that she was grateful that the city acted quickly and cleaned up most of the paint, but hopes it gets a “fresh coat” soon.

The Now-Leader has reached out to the City to see if it plans to repaint it.

About the Author: Anna Burns

I cover breaking news, health care, court, Vancouver Rise FC, Vancouver Goldeneyes and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader. anna.burns@surreynowleader.com Follow Anna on Twitter.

Surrey LGBTQ+ groups celebrate resilience following rainbow crosswalk vandalism

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