Edmonton Pride parade is back — but some are concerned disagreements remain unresolved

After a seven-year hiatus, Edmonton's pride parade will be back in Edmonton this August.

Part of a three day festival, the parade will run on August 23 downtown. While it's welcome news for some, concerns about the issues that led to the cancellation of the previous parade persist.

The parade was cancelled in 2019 after protests and disagreements over the involvement of law enforcement. Some advocates said marginalized groups were being sidelined.

That organization that used to organize the parade — the Edmonton Pride Festival Society —  has since dissolved. This year's festivities will be organized by Edmonton PrideFest Association who started hosting pride events in Churchill Square in 2022.

Megan Normandeau, a spokesperson for Edmonton PrideFest said it will be a new version of the parade that will emphasize collaboration.

"After some consultation with other groups in the city, it just felt like the right time to bring back the Pride parade," she said.

"We really wanted to make sure that we gave the opportunity for other organizations to come to the table. And so we're really excited to move forward with an event that considers those perspectives."

Normandeau said any organization can apply to participate in the parade.

Rob Browatzke, co-owner of Evolution gay bars in Edmonton, said many people in the community have missed the parade. 

And while some might remember the floats and flags running down Whyte Avenue, Browatzke remembers the parade was a downtown affair from 1999 to 2014.

"It was a very big deal for our community to be marching down Jasper Ave. in the early 2000s, ending at Churchill Square," Browatzke said.

"I love having the festival itself back in the heart of the city."

RaricaNow — an organization advocating for 2SLGBTQ+ refugees and newcomers in Canada — was one of the groups that made demands calling for changes to the previous iteration of the festival.

Adebayo Katiiti, CEO of RaricaNow, said he was surprised to hear the parade was coming back — and would've liked to see more consultation.

"I think there needed to be intentional community consultations and engagement before folks coming to that decision, considering the previous harm that was caused by the Pride festival to the queer, BIPOC and trans community members," Katiiti said. 

Katiiti said it's important Pride lifts up the voices of those most marginalized and most at risk. 

"As much as many people want to celebrate — we have come a long way and yes, there is so much we have attained and they deserve a spotlight — but we have a long way to go."

Browatzke said many questions felt unanswered after the way the last parade ended — and at a community engagement session held by the Edmonton PrideFest last year, many of those questions came up again.

Those questions were about police and military involvement, the role of corporate sponsorship, the inclusion of trans and gender nonconforming Albertans, and how to centre Black and Indigenous two-spirit voices in the festival.

"Whether or not all of those questions have been answered in regards to this year's parade, I don't know."

Either way, Browatzke said that bringing the parade back had to start somewhere.

"I think everybody kind of agrees that some sort of parade or march is needed," he said.

"It's an important part of Pride historically. It's certainly an important part of Pride now given the political climate that we are facing."