Manitoba raises transgender flag in Winnipeg park

The Manitoba government marked the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Monday with a flag-raising ceremony at Winnipeg’s Memorial Park.

Government officials, including Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, attended the ceremony where the transgender flag was raised.

The event was in commemoration of the Transgender Day of Remembrance – a day to honour the memory of those whose lives were lost due to anti-transgender violence. It is also a time to bring awareness to the discrimination and violence the transgender community faces.

“Today is a day where we reflect on how transphobia and how not being inclusive and how harmful rhetoric can negatively impact the lives of trans youth and trans folks on their journeys,” Asagwara said.

“But it’s also an important day to reflect on how allyship and working together and government being a leader and standing up for all Manitobans can make the difference."

This year, the flag raised by Logan Oxenham, Manitoba’s first openly transgender man to be elected as a member of the legislative assembly.

At Monday’s ceremony, he said the flag stands as a symbol of the community’s resilience.

“As we raise the trans pride flag today, we remember those in our community who came before us,” Oxemham said.

“And we recognize that debates about our very existence are raging both across the country and right here in Manitoba.”

The province first flew the transgender flag at Memorial Park in 2015.