Taking Pride in what’s been built

Sunday, June 7, was a steamy day but, even without the heat, the heart of Winnipeg glowed with warmth.

That’s because an estimated 15,000 LGBTTQ+ Winnipeggers and allies snaked their way through the city’s downtown arteries — from the Manitoba legislature, along Portage Avenue and to The Forks — as part of the city’s 39th annual Pride Winnipeg parade, a riotously colourful expression and celebration of love and joy.

At The Forks, participants enjoyed drag shows, live music, theatre performances and other activities to mark the culmination of Pride Week, as well as the beginning of what the province of Manitoba now recognizes as Pride Month.

Jim Kane, grand marshal of this year’s parade, said during the pre-parade rally in front of the Legislative Building that Winnipeg and Manitoba have made great strides since 1987, when the first Pride march was held.

“We’ve come a long way,” Kane said, reflecting on how he and 249 others were the first Pride marchers. “It’s gone from a Pride Day to a Pride Week to a Pride Month.”

Pride was a march back then, as opposed to a parade — a public demonstration demanding acknowledgment of rights that, while constitutionally guaranteed, weren’t necessarily recognized, accepted or even acknowledged in Canada, Manitoba and Winnipeg.

Even though former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau famously said “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation” in 1967 (when he was federal justice minister), it has taken decades of anguish, advocacy and action for Canadian society to get to the point at which Winnipeg’s LGBTTQ+ community can view the Pride parade as a celebration of equality, community and inclusion.

Same-sex sexual activity was only partially decriminalized in Canada in 1969 (only deemed legal if it occurred in private, between two consenting adults). That’s just 57 years ago. Manitoba legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, only 22 years ago; and it was less than 10 years ago, in 2017, that the federal government apologized to and expunged the records of those convicted of consensual same-sex sexual activity.

But there’s so much more to do. Homosexuality is still illegal in 65 countries. Anyone who’s been on any social media platform has seen countless hateful and hate-filled anti-LGBTTQ+ posts by trolls from all corners of the globe. The spigot of hate flows relentlessly and it is despicable.

Here in Canada, considered one of the world’s most tolerant liberal democracies, some provincial governments recently drafted and enacted what has been described as intolerant legislation regarding pronoun usage and the rights of trans youth in schools. In recent years in Manitoba, anti-inclusion protesters have disrupted school board meetings in Winnipeg and Pride parades in communities outside Winnipeg have drawn protest and complaint. Obby Khan, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, was criticized last year for not attending the Pride Winnipeg parade — something he says was the result of “a misunderstanding.”

June 7, however, was a day of celebration and hope. After politicians of all stripes, from all levels of government — including Khan and his son — attended the rally and marched in the parade, organizers exulted in the size of the crowd, acknowledged the progress they have made and expressed their hopes for the future.

Pride Winnipeg president Barry Karlenzig said 33 communities outside Winnipeg, supported by the rainbow coalition of the Manitoba Pride Alliance, now hold Pride events.

Next March, Winnipeg will play host to the Fierté Canada Pride conference and Pride Winnipeg will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2027. Managing director Justin Fernandes — who will soon work full-time for the primarily volunteer-run organization — is planning to hold a three-day Pride festival. The signs are good that Manitoba’s LGBTTQ+ communities will enjoy a banner Pride season next year.

As they should.

After all: love is love.