Thousands march in Winnipeg Pride parade: ‘We have a voice. We want to be heard’

Colourful flags, balloons and signs were waving at Memorial Park and through the streets of downtown for the annual Winnipeg Pride parade Sunday.

Parade-goers braved the 31-degree Celsius heat as they marched to show their support for 2SLGBTQ+ groups and causes. The parade ended at The Forks.

The day began with a rally at the Manitoba legislative building.

“We have 100,000 individuals that identify in the City of Winnipeg alone as part of the queer community,” said Barry Karlenzig, the president of Pride Winnipeg. “That is one sixth of the population in this city. We have a voice. We want to be heard.”

2SLGBTQ+ groups across North America celebrate June as Pride month. Winnipeg is the first major city to host a Pride parade this year in Canada.

“Seeing 160 parade entries this year and all of them having DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) groups or wanting to be more diverse is truly amazing because it shows that Winnipeg is a very diverse city and hate is not welcomed here,” said Karlenzig.

The parade was a way for organizers to show the strength and resilience of the community, after some anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric recently in Manitoba.

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Last month a Winnipeg school saw their outdoor Pride flag stolen and replaced with what the school’s principal described as a hateful note.

“It was some ugly rhetoric,” Ross Meacham, the principal of Riverbend Community School, told CityNews May 17. “This shouldn’t be taught at school and that kids shouldn’t be taught some unwholesome, I think the word used, is that being gay is something someone should do on their own time.”

Also last month, a speaker at a Brandon School Division board meeting called for the removal of 2SLGBTQ+ and sex education books in schools.

“It is our request that you set up a committee made up of some trustees and some parents who will examine books on these subjects and remove the inappropriate and harmful ones,” said former trustee Lorraine Hackenschmidt at the time.

The school board voted against creating such a committee.

While Sunday’s parade saw Winnipeggers show their support, hate can have an effect on members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, the president of Pride Winnipeg says.

“It has a very negative effect on the community because it’s that kicked back to the community where the community is starting to say, ‘do I feel safe in my city? Do I feel safe for who I am?'” said Karlenzig.

“And for some, they’re going back in the closet after coming out. We’re seeing it with the 55-plus group where unfortunately, as they’re going into housing now, they’re having to go back into the closet.”