CBC Lite Sections News • Canada • Kitchener Waterloo 'We demand your resignation': Protesters march to Cambridge city hall after mayor interrupts Pride speech Aastha Shetty | CBC News | Posted: June 8, 2026 8:16 PM | Last Updated: 13 hours ago Mayor Jan Liggett says she stands by her actions of pulling microphone from teen during Pride event Image | IMG_1973 Caption: A crowd of about 100 people gathered in front of Cambridge's city hall Monday afternoon to protest and called for Mayor Jan Liggett to resign after she interrupted Sophie Mills during their speech at the city's Pride Month flag raising event. (Aastha Shetty/CBC) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab A Pride group has organized a protest outside Cambridge city hall and is demanding the resignation of the mayor after she interrupted a speech by 17-year-old Sophie Mills during a city-run Pride event last week. "There was no apology, there was no accountability from the mayor for what happened that day is the biggest thing," said Bryan Causarano-Bolton, co-founder of Grand River Pride. About 100 protesters gathered at Lower Main St. in the Galt area of the city at 3 p.m. and have marched to Cambridge City Hall. WATCH | Protesters march to Cambridge city hall, call for mayor's resignation: Media Video | Caption: Members of Cambridge's 2SLGBTQIA+ community and their allies marched from Main Street to city hall Monday afternoon, calling for Mayor Jan Liggett's resignation. This comes after the mayor interrupted 17-year-old Sophie Mills' speech during a Pride event last week. Mills mentioned a Cambridge councillor, Adam Cooper, and a meme he posted to social media that angered some in the community. Liggett said she stands by her actions and hasn't apologized publicly. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Among the protesters were Mills' family members. "It was a planned speech, and it was infuriating actually to see somebody come up there and take it away from them," said Ben Mills, Sophie's father, who was at the protest Monday as well as the event when Liggett interrupted the speech. Image | IMG_1941 Caption: (Aastha Shetty/CBC) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab The group is calling on the integrity commissioner to “hold the mayor accountable for her disregard of the Municipal Code of Conduct and the infringement of [Mills’s] freedom of expression.” "Mayor Liggett, we demand your resignation," the group said. Former mayor of Cambridge, Kathryn McGarry, was among those on Monday calling for Liggett's resignation. "It's terrible behaviour from the mayor, and I agree with the call. She should resign," said McGarry at the protest. "I think that it sends two messages: one, young people are not safe here in the community when they are queer, and number two, using your position of power to intimidate and stop youth because their words were uncomfortable," she said. People outside city hall were calling for Liggett to come out of city hall to address the crowd. Image | IMG_1960 Caption: (Aastha Shetty/CBC) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Why was the speech interrupted? A video circulating online shows that the mayor interrupted 17-year-old Sophie Mills' speech when they began to comment on how Ward 6 Coun. Adam Cooper’s controversial Facebook post in January 2025 made them feel. * 'I'm not going to allow you to continue': Mayor of Cambridge, Ont., interrupts teen's Pride speech In the video, a seated Liggett stands up, walks toward Mills and pulls the microphone away from them. "Sophie, I'm not going to allow you to continue. This is disrespect," Liggett said, speaking into the microphone. Image | Sophie Mills Caption: (Julia Mills) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab "Can you remove that part from your speech please. [Cooper] has already gone through what he needs to go through and I don't think it's helpful." WATCH | Here's the moment a Cambridge teen's Pride speech was interrupted: Media Video | CBC News Kitchener-Waterloo : Caption: Pride month is meant to be a celebration of inclusiveness and community. But it wasn't for 17-year-old Sophie Mills, who was giving a speech in front of Mayor Jan Liggett on Monday. During their speech, Sophie mentioned councillor Adam Cooper's controversial Facebook post that had made light of pronouns and sparked outrage from members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Liggett stopped the teen mid-speech and asked them to omit the part about Cooper before allowing them to continue speaking. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. In October 2025, council said Cooper would need to complete sensitivity training, after the integrity commissioner determined he violated council's code of conduct. Cooper's meme, was posted on Facebook on Jan. 22, 2025, showed a person with blue hair screaming toward the camera. "He took my pronouns! I have to live in reality now!" was written on the image, alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order ending many policies protecting 2SLGBTQ+ rights. The post was later deleted from the councillor's page. Mayor posts response video On Friday, the mayor's office released a 10-minute video of Liggett addressing the incident. "I am very concerned that there's a certain group of people who are inflaming this situation to serve their own political agenda," she said in the video. "We must be willing to listen, to forgive, to learn and ultimately, to move ahead together." * Cambridge, Ont., mayor 'stands by' stopping teen's speech at Pride event Causarano-Bolton says the mayor should apologize to Mills for obstructing their freedom of expression. "What we're trying to combat is people who spread hate," Causarano-Bolton said. "We have tried to sit down with the mayor's office. We have asked for conversations with them. So this insinuation that we're not wanting to sit down or that there's somebody preventing a discussion — that's coming from within city hall." Causarano-Bolton said Grand River Pride has been “really struggling” with their relationship with the city, citing its lack of transparency behind Cooper’s reprimand and sensitivity training. Liggett told CBC News if she were to apologize that would be between herself and Mills. WATCH | Cambridge mayor's full public statement after cutting off Pride speech: Media Video | CBC News Kitchener-Waterloo : Caption: Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett has released a public statement on video responding to the backlash she's receiving for cutting off a teen as they were giving a speech during a Pride event in the city. The mayor had stopped 17-year-old Sophie Mills when they mentioned Coun. Adam Cooper's controversial Facebook post in Jan. 2025 that made light of pronouns and sparked outrage from members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. More Stories Like This The related links below are generated automatically based on the story you’ve just read. Loading... CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth website. To see what's new, check out our release notes. For high quality images, media, comments, and other additional features visit the full version of this story. We and select advertising partners use trackers to collect some of your data in order to enhance your experience and to deliver personalized content and advertising. If you are not comfortable with the use of this information, please review your device and browser privacy settings before continuing your visit. Learn more about Online Tracking and Privacy Choices. * Corrections and Clarifications * Terms of Use * Reuse & Permission * Privacy * Accessibility * Contact a Newsroom * Submit Feedback * Lite Help Centre * Jobs * RSS CBC Lite version: 1.8.19. ©2026 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved.