Rural Manitoba businesses fear supporting Pride because of backlash, alliance says

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Peggy

The Manitoba Pride Alliance says it’s disheartened by some food truck operators’ decision to withdraw from this year’s Pride festivities in the Pembina Valley, but adds businesses backing out from such events because they fear backlash isn’t rare.

Three food trucks that were planned to show up to Pride events in Altona this weekend withdrew after one of them received online threats its business would be vandalized, Pembina Valley Pride organizers told CBC News earlier this week.

Jenn Rands, advocacy vice-president for Pride Winnipeg and the alliance’s chair, said the situation highlights some of the challenges grassroots organizers face when they’re looking for support from local businesses — particularly in rural communities in southern Manitoba.

“It’s tough for them to gain support, whether that’s from community members or from local municipal government or even right down to getting support from local small business,” Rands said.

“On top of that, you know, they get threats and letters that are full of transphobic and homophobic language. And it’s just a real struggle.”

The alliance was established earlier this year to benefit small Pride organizations that may need help on the administrative or advocacy front, as well as with arranging security.

Rands said the amount of hate toward the 2SLGBTQ+ community across Canada has increased over the last two years, and that many of the alliance’s members have beefed up safety measures.

People holding a sign that says Steinbach Pride — Steinbach Pride says a lot of businesses choose not to support their events — or do so anonymously — because they fear boycotts. (Submitted by Steinbach Pride)

“These are not unique challenges to just Pride Month,” she said. “This is something that members of the 2SLGBTQ+ deal with on a day-to-day basis in their lives.”

Organization sees jump in anonymous donations

Steinbach Pride, which is currently preparing for its big Pride march on June 23, says that while it hasn’t seen a situation like what’s happened in Pembina Valley this year, a lot of businesses choose not to support their events — or do so anonymously — because they fear boycotts.

“Every single year, we see this kind of thing,” said president Christopher Plett. “We’ve even in the past received businesses that were interested in allowing us to hold our meetings [there], and they asked that we just not tell anybody.”

Plett said he’s noticed an increase in the number of businesses asking to donate anonymously this year, but said that could just mean more people are willing to chip in, even if it’s not publicly.

“That’s not something you’d be sort of excited about, is people not being all openly proud about supporting your Pride organization. But we also have to understand the community and the environment that we operate in,” he said.

“Steinbach is a large town, [but] if you are one of the maybe one of the two businesses in town doing a certain type of work, then for you to lose numbers, that can be significant.”

Northern Manitoba organizers cancel events, call for more volunteers

Meanwhile, another organization in rural Manitoba says it’s shifting its focus away from running big events this year because it doesn’t have enough volunteers.

A person wearing glasses. — Pride North of 55’s Caleb Bielak says attendance is high, but there aren’t enough volunteers to help run the organization’s Pride Month gatherings. (Jenna Dulewich/CBC)

Thompson-based Pride North of 55 announced earlier this month it won’t hold any public gatherings this Pride Month. Vice-chair Caleb Bielak said attendance rates are high, but there are only a few volunteers who actually help run the events.

“Burnout has been an ongoing issue since as long as I’ve been a part of the organization,” they said. “A lot of us are also working full-time jobs. Some of us have children. And so we decided this year that we were no longer going to put ourselves, our mental health at risk.”

People raising a flag — A two-spirit themed Pride flag is raised at Thompson city hall in 2022. ‘Burnout has been an ongoing issue since as long as I’ve been a part of the organization,’ Bielak said. (Submitted by Francis Budd)

Bielak said they hope putting events on hold this year will mean more people step up in the future.

“Sometimes, people get a little bit afraid if they’re not in the community, and they might think that they don’t have a right to be part of our organization,” they said. “But one thing we need more than anything is allies.”