Winnipeg Pride marches on during Manitoba's ongoing state of emergency over wildfires

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 5:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

More than 10,000 radical walked done downtown Winnipeg on Sunday arsenic the yearly Pride parade marched connected amid Manitoba's ongoing authorities of emergency. 

Thousands much radical cheered and waved flags successful enactment of the 2SLGBTQ+ community as they lined up on the smoky parade way from the Manitoba Legislature to The Forks, wherever Pride Festival events were planned to tally into the evening.

Pride Winnipeg president Barry Karlenzig said it's not lone an important clip for the assemblage to travel together, but besides to admit Pride's roots arsenic a governmental protestation movement.

"It is simply a clip to beryllium large and arrogant but besides admit what is going connected up north," Karlenzig said, referring to the wildfires. 

He said Pride Winnipeg is donating fractional of the assistance wealth raised implicit the play to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to assistance First Nations that person had to evacuate.   

"What Pride means to maine is recognizing and remembering those who paved the mode for wherever you are contiguous and making definite that we instrumentality our privilege and our powerfulness to physique it guardant for the adjacent generation," helium said.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was among the thousands marching connected Sunday. 

"This year, it's precise unsocial with the wildfires. So we're celebrating Pride wrong a authorities of emergency," Kinew told CBC, adding that Pride could beryllium a affirmative outlet for radical affected by wildfire evacuations.

"It's important for america to determination up with Pride due to the fact that adjacent successful these much challenging moments, it's inactive a bully accidental for Manitobans to amusement who we are arsenic a province," helium said. 

'Be prideful of who you are'

Winnipeggers of each ages came retired to observe Pride connected Sunday.  

Terra Morrissette, who attended the parade with her children, told CBC News it's important for her to beryllium astatine Pride to amusement her children that she loves them and supports them for precisely who they are. 

"It's ever bully to spot everybody coming retired arsenic a community, whether you are gay, straight, bi, trans, an ally. It's truthful bully that everybody tin travel unneurotic and beryllium prideful of who you are," Terra said. 

Her lad Fizz Morrissette has been attending the Pride parade for the past 4 years and said helium feels similar helium tin explicit himself afloat there.

"Having this parade every twelvemonth conscionable means truthful overmuch to maine due to the fact that I get to beryllium myself to my afloat extent," helium said. 

Representatives from schoolhouse divisions besides walked successful the parade, arsenic students and educators showed up for 2SLGBTQ+ youth. 

Teacher Jeremy Stubler said helium brought his household to the lawsuit connected Sunday to enactment the students helium works with, portion showing his young lad the value of acceptance.

"We privation him to cognize erstwhile helium grows up that helium tin beryllium whoever helium wants and bash immoderate helium wants and being astatine an lawsuit similar this is truly important to spot that," Stubler said. 

He said Pride is besides a fun, colourful and breathtaking lawsuit for everyone. 

To Stephanie Cielen, Pride is "just axenic happiness" and is an lawsuit that she looks guardant to "every time of the year."  

"This brings maine much joyousness than anything," she said. 

This year, Pride Winnipeg's Karlenzig said astir 140 organizations walked and rolled down the streets with colourful displays. That's astir triple the fig of entries compared to erstwhile helium archetypal started with Pride Winnipeg a decennary and a fractional ago. 

Six marching bands helped supply the soundtrack, playing fashionable songs from artists similar Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan. 

"I'm feeling perfectly astonishing to spot the magnitude of diverseness today, the magnitude of floats and the passion," Karlenzig said. 

"It conscionable brings a teardrop to my oculus aft 15 years."