Montreal Pride tripled security budget this year

Montreal Pride has tripled its security budget this year, in part to address heightened fears following several high-profile vehicle-ramming attacks,according to one of the festival organizers.

"We've seen what's been happening in the world in the last year so we had to increase security. Our festival this year is bigger, is prouder, the parade is longer," said Pride Montreal vice-presidentJean-SbastienBoudreault.

The news comes after a vehicle plowed into a crowd of people in the popular Las Ramblas district in Barcelona, killing 14 and injuring more than 100.

"Wewerealready prepared.It's really sad what happened in Barcelona, but it's not something new," saidBouldrealt.

That attack was just a few days after a car rammed into a crowd of anti-racist counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va. and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

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Prime Minister JustinTrudeauwill march in the Pride Parade withIreland's openly-gay Prime Minister LeoVaradkar, adding to the need for higher security at this year's celebrations. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre will join them.

The parade starts at noon on Sunday. It runs along Ren-LvesqueBoulevard, starting atthe corner of DrummondStreet and heading eastto the Alexandre-DeSve Street intersection.

Gay rights activist Stuart Milk, the nephew of legendary LGBTQactivist Harvey Milk, will be the parade grand marshal.

Pride Montreal has been working closely with theSPVMfor months, said Boudreault, and they have been told police haven't detected any threats to the festival.

"There's nothing on theSPVM'sradar," he said Friday afternoon.

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Pride Montreal has increased the number of security guards, andBoudreaultsaid there will be both plainclothes and uniformed security agentson site.

"We have about tripled the budget for security, making sure we have more agents, we have obstacles on the street," he said.

"Acar could try to accelerate and hit one of our sites,so we can make sure to have physical obstacles there. We have more eyes in both parks."

Boudreaultsaid the cost of security was in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars."

There were also be concrete barriers, and some locationswill see 16-foot heavy trucks parked to block entrances to prevent vehicle attacks.Boudreault said trucks were chosen because theycan be backed out if emergency responders need site access.

Boudreault said the groupwanted the new security measures to be as invisible as possible so that festival goers couldenjoy themselves.