Steinbach Pride (also known as the March for Equality) is an annual

pride march A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The eve ...

and rally in

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () is the List of cities in Manitoba, third-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and with a population of 17,806, the largest community in the Eastman Region, Manitoba, Eastman region. The city, located about southeast of ...

. The first event, which was attended by 3,000 people, was held on July 9, 2016. It garnered national attention in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

after no elected officials of the area chose to attend.

History

In spring 2013, the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

provincial government tabled Bill 18, an anti-bullying bill, which required all publicly funded schools to support anti-bullying student groups, including those supporting students of "all sexual orientations and gender identities," such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Some socially conservative groups such as Southland Community Church and Steinbach Christian School opposed the bill on grounds that it violated their religious freedom, and Steinbach City Council passed a resolution asking the government to review the issue. A prayer meeting in Steinbach against Bill 18 drew 1,200 people. Bill 18 passed without amendments in September, and has not been rescinded even after the Progressive Conservatives came into power. In 2016, Steinbach resident Michelle McHale petitioned Hanover School Division, asking for an inclusive curriculum, while the board responded by citing an internal policy not to discuss same-sex relationships in the classroom. It also denied a similar request from a lesbian student in one of their schools. McHale and her partner then filed a Human Rights Complaint against Hanover School Division. McHale, who had been involved in Pride Winnipeg, organized the first ever Pride Parade in Steinbach. Since 2019, the event has been organized by Chris Plett. The 2020 and 2021 events were postponed due the Covid 19 pandemic, with the event returning in August 2022.

First parade

The first Steinbach Pride event was held on July 9, 2016. Organizers were expecting about 200 people, but over 3,000 people came from the region and across the province and the parade received national attention. Support for the parade grew when news and criticisms broke that neither the mayor of Steinbach, their provincial representative, nor their federal representative would attend. Federal MP

Ted Falk Theodore J. "Ted" Falk (born May 23, 1960) is a Canadian politician, who currently represents the electoral district of Provencher, Manitoba, in the House of Commons of Canada. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, he was first elected ...

claimed a conflict in his schedule with Frog Follies festival in

St-Pierre-Jolys St-Pierre-Jolys (formerly ''Rivière-aux-Rats''/Rat River, ''St-Pierre''/St. Pierre) is a village in the Canadian province of Manitoba, located southeast of Winnipeg on Highway 59 near the Rat River. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality o ...

, but when the Follies organizers publicly asked him to attend Steinbach Pride instead, Falk came out to say he would not attend because of “values of faith, family and community.” At first, the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

denied the organizers' application for a permit to march on the street and asked the parade to stay on the sidewalk, but were able to negotiate a route with the city. The parade route went from E.A. Friesen Park to Steinbach City Hall, where speakers addressed a crowd that spilled out beyond the building's lawn.

References

{{reflist, 2 Pride parades in Canada LGBTQ in Manitoba LGBTQ Mennonites