Pride parade takes over Downtown Winnipeg

Love and acceptance, along with a reminder of the challenges taking place for the LGBTQ2S+ community was in the air Sunday morning.

The Winnipeg Pride Parade, which brings members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and its allies together to celebrate, got underway with a rally at the Manitoba legislature.

“This week is about compassion, this week is about love, this week is about listening, and this week is about pride,” said Sean Irvine, executive director of Pride Winnipeg.

Thousands gathered on the lawn of the legislature and along the parade route, to show their support for the community.

“For 37 years, Winnipeg Pride has opened minds, nurtured courage and understanding, and given people in this city and this province a chance to sing, and dance and be as fabulous as they want to be,” said Lt. Governor Anita Neville at the rally.

While the mood at the rally was primarily joyful, with attendees encouraged to be fabulous and live their best lives, a reminder of the struggles still in place was also shared, including attempted book bans, the parental rights movement, and an active increase in hate in recent years towards members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Kai Solomon with The Den, which served as the community group marshal, said the battle for equality continues today.

“Our schools have become battlegrounds, where our children’s safety and belonging are more actively challenged, where trustees are not always working to protect all of the students in their care, where small, but vocal groups are causing real damage to those in our community,” they said.

“This hate disguised as concern has spilled out into the larger community, impacting the safety of us all.”

During his speech at the rally ahead of the parade, Premier Wab Kinew took time to affirm his support for the LGBTQ2S+ community and encourage everyone to stand up to hate.

“If somebody stands up and very cynically uses an issue such as parental rights and think they’re going to get away with it because it’s the lone trans child in a school far away from them that has to contend with it, I want to send a different message today,” Kinew said.

“If you try and pull that again in Manitoba, it’s not just going to be the lone trans child you’re going to have to contend with. You’re going to have to respond to the Premier of Manitoba, the cabinet of this province and the entire government of Manitoba.”

A homemade sign along the Pride Parade route in Winnipeg on June 2, 2024. (CTV News Winnipeg)

Irvine said people need to listen to the voices of people in the community to help move forward.

“I believe education is the medicine for ignorance,” he said. “Through the stories of our community, our country can learn, it can grow, and we can move forward and advocate for equal rights.”

Following the speeches, the parade started marching through downtown to The Forks for the Pride Festival.

Crowds begin gathering at the Manitoba Legislature for the 2024 Pride Parade and rally on June 2, 2024 (CTV News Winnipeg)