Toronto Pride newcomer ambassador is 2SLGBTQ+ refugee from Uganda

Patrick King Mwesigye says he was humbled when Toronto Pride made him the newcomer ambassador for this year's festival — a milestone in a long journey from persecution to refuge to activism.

"Where I come from, we do not have the opportunity, not even to gather two or three people, to talk about anything LGBTQ," he said Radio's Metro Morning on Friday, June 26.

Mwesigye fled Uganda in 2022, where homosexuality is punishable by life in prison or, in some cases, death. There, he openly advocated for queer rights, co-founding a group supporting trans women. He was attacked several times and imprisoned for his work before deciding to escape.

"You're not safe. You don't know what will happen to you at any given point," he said. When he confirmed he was making it to Canada, he expected safety. "I knew that it was going to be a safe haven, a smooth landing. But it was different."

Among the influx of African refugees who arrived in Toronto between 2021 and 2023, overwhelming the city's shelter system, Mwesigye spent his first three nights sleeping on the street. He then lived in a shelter on Peter Street for 10 months. Despite training as a public health professional and social worker back home, he found it difficult to secure work with foreign credentials.

When he finally found housing, he felt a conviction to help others in similar circumstances. "Lots of African refugees were just right on the streets, nowhere to stay," Mwesigye said. "And I felt like, OK, we need to do something, right? We need, possibly, services that are more aligned to us."

That conviction led him to recruit other Black African community leaders, refugees, and newcomers to found Hope for Refugees International (HRI). The organization helps Black 2SLGBTQ+ refugees in Toronto and across Ontario with everything from getting a Presto card to finding shelter to negotiating and signing a lease. The aim is "helping them navigate services, empowering and supporting them to live quality lives with equity, dignity, and opportunities to realize their full potential."

HRI has already helped over 1,600 refugees, asylum seekers, and newcomers. That includes Maisha Tanko, who left Ghana last year fearing persecution for her sexuality. After initially moving to Mississauga, Tanko relocated to transitional housing in Toronto, where she met Mwesigye and discovered HRI.

HRI helped Tanko find work and navigate the refugee process while Mwesigye personally helped her figure out how to get her high school diploma after she told him she wanted to be a nurse.

Mwesigye says the Pride recognition celebrates not just his journey but the work of his entire team and the constant push the organization has made for Pride Toronto to become more diverse. "The recognition at this weekend's festival feels like a celebration of the work he and his colleagues at the grassroots organization do to support Black 2SLGBTQ+ refugees in Toronto and across Ontario."