Pride Winnipeg disappointed with PCs after Official Opposition skips out on parade
Obby Khan says he wasn't invited; Pride organizer says PCs didn't need an invitation
The president of Pride Winnipeg says he's disappointed the Manitoba Progressive Conservative caucus did not participate formally in Sunday's Pride parade after taking part in every parade since 2017.
Pride Winnipeg president Barry Karlenzig said PC Leader Obby Khan and other PC MLAs did not sign up as an entry in the annual parade.
"It's disappointing to me because when the PCs were in power, we did receive the provincial grants to start Manitoba Pride Alliance and we were told they support the queer community," Karlenzig said Monday.
"This shows wholeheartedly that that was just speech. They don't support the community. If they supported the community, they would have been there to celebrate our diverse community."
The PCs formally entered all but one parade when Brian Pallister served as premier, both parades when Heather Stefanson was premier and in 2024, when interim leader Wayne Ewasko led the party.
Obby Khan, who won the PC leadership race in April, said Sunday's Pride parade "looked like it was a great time" but did not offer an explanation why he and his caucus did not walk in it.
"MLAs are free to attend if they want to attend. I don't know what every MLA's schedule was. I know my schedule was what it was," Khan said.
"Also, you know, I had a prior commitment. I wasn't invited and I don't want the story to be about me attending Pride. This is about communities, about a celebration. It's about communities about the rights and that's what we want to focus on."
Karlenzig said the PCs did not need an invitation to sign up for the parade. The only formal invitations were sent to the premier, mayor, prime minister and the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, he said.
Karlenzig noted Stefanson even walked in the parade the one year she was asked not to speak at the Pride rally.
Khan said it's important to note the former PC government's financial support for both Pride Winnipeg and the Rainbow Resource Centre.
Earlier this spring, when he was running for PC leader, Khan also said he was not aware the term "parental rights" could have been perceived as a transphobic dog whistle during the 2023 provincial election campaign, when he served as the face of a PC "parental rights" campaign platform promise he described as an effort to combat bullying in schools.
"I was aware after the campaign, actually, that some people would use that as a dog whistle. It was not my intent at all. I don't believe in that at all," Khan said in an interview on March 7.
Khan said as a member of a visible minority, he has faced and continues to face discrimination and he feels strongly about the rights of every Manitoban.