Calgary Pride will allow politicians to march in parade, reversing 2019 decision

Calgary Pride is allowing political parties to participate in this year’s festival and parade, reversing a decision made in 2019 to not allow political participation.

“There was quite a bit of feedback from our community that that wasn’t probably the best path forward,” said Brit Nickerson, the manager of communications at Calgary Pride.

“In 2019, the decision was made initially due to only one political party passing the kind of application process at that time, so they decided that instead of just allowing the one party, they would just effectively put a ban on it.

“So really, we’re just trying to understand what actionable steps the party or individual folks have taken to assist our communities.”

Every year, thousands gather to celebrate the diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community during the Calgary Pride Parade & Festival.

A number of events will take place throughout August, concluding with the parade on Sept. 4, 2022.

CityNews has reached out to the United Conservative Party (UCP), and Alberta’s New Democratic Party (NDP) for a response to Calgary Pride’s decision.

In a statement, the NDP’S Janice Irwin, said: “We respect the application process Calgary Pride has announced for political parties’ participation in this year’s parade, and Alberta’s NDP is looking forward to applying.”

“Its’s been a great privilege to join pride events in communities across Alberta this summer, both to celebrate and progress, and to recommit ourselves to advancing the rights of everyone in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

Tim Gerwing, the director of communication with the UCP, said in a  statement: “The United Conservative Caucus will be submitting an application to participate in the 2022 Calgary Pride Parade. We look forward to learning more about the application process in the days ahead.”

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The jury will be made up of community members who will be able to give their opinions anonymously.

“It’s not going to be an automatic no just because someone belongs to a particular party. The majority of the questions are asking folks to provide what have they done, what have their actions been? Are there initiatives? Rather than simply asking them to state their political party, or where they sit on the spectrum,” said Nickerson.