There's 'no going back' for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, says St. John's Pride co-chair

Organizers behind St. John's Pride are looking to a brighter future with this year's celebration of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

The theme for 2025 is "no going back."

Eddy St. Coeur, co-chair of the not-for-profit, says the slogan is a rallying cry for progress in light of what he calls regressive actions in other provinces, pointing to Alberta's Education Amendment Act, which was passed in December 2024. 

The Act requires "that teachers, principals and other school staff cannot use the new gender identity-related preferred name or pronouns until parental notification has occurred, and for students under 16 years of age, until parental consent has been obtained," according to the province's website.

That can set a harmful precedent back home in Newfoundland and Labrador, St. Coeur said. 

"The queer community, and in particular the trans community because they're more vulnerable, are being scapegoated as these targets that governments have to put their focus on instead of realizing that they're citizens just like everybody else," he told CBC News on Monday.

"It just felt like we needed to say enough is enough."

The 'walk of sham'

St. John's Pride is hosting an array of events starting on Wednesday.

That comes less than a week after a rainbow-coloured crosswalk in Botwood — hours away from the city — was painted over with the words "walk of sham," possibly meant to read "walk of shame," according to the RCMP.

Although St. Coeur says incidents targeting 2SLGBTQ+ individuals or the group as a whole are rare in Newfoundland and Labrador, he hopes communities take them seriously when they occur.

Chris Ivany, deputy mayor of Botwood, says the town has installed a rainbow crosswalk to recognize Pride for the past few summers, but installed three for the first time this year.

This is also the first year a Pride crosswalk has been defaced in his community, said Ivany.

"I don't think it's rampant," Ivany said. "A few people are just disgruntled about that aspect of life, and they showed that by doing what they did."

The deputy mayor said the town council is disappointed by what happened. The incident is under police investigation. 

"I certainly hope that this is the one and only instance that we have," Ivany said.

'We're still going to continue to exist'

Despite recent events, St. Coeur said Pride celebrations are a reminder of the joy that exists in the queer community.

"We're still going to continue to exist," said St. Coeur. "Whether you're in another small town in the province, on this island and in Labrador, there is a community of people that are there for you to connect."

St. John's Pride starts on Wednesday, with the annual parade through downtown scheduled for July 20.

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