Edmonton Pride Parade returns after seven years, led by trans march

The Edmonton Pride Parade returned to the city Saturday to much fanfare after a seven-year hiatus.

Edmontonians filled Churchill Square and lined the streets to watch the festivities, celebrating and advocating for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

There was a strong focus on transgender people’s human rights as the parade began with the first Trans March of its kind in Edmonton, according to RaricaNow founder Adebayo Chris Katiiti.

He said starting the march in this manner, with Black transgender women refugees and a 350-foot-long Transgender Pride flag leading the way — sends a message.

“We are here to tell the world that we aren’t going anywhere,” Katiiti said. “We are here shining bright. We are here making history happen.”

The parade took on more significance for some after the Alberta government passed a trio of bills affecting the transgender community last year.

“We know our government has been attacking trans communities here in Alberta, and today is a big statement,” Katiiti said. “Look at that long trans flag, it’s a big statement that trans people are welcome in Alberta.”

This is the first parade after it was cancelled in 2019 over disagreements about the involvement of law enforcement.

Katiiti, in an Instagram post, said the renewed Edmonton PrideFest Association agreed to a list of demands from RaricaNow and other groups ahead of the parade, including: beginning the parade with a trans march, honouring the contributions of Black trans activists, and not permitting official police or military representation in the festivities.

The renewed parade was especially meaningful for some transgender women refugees, including Pretery Peter, who left Uganda facing persecution. She and other women refugees led the parade carrying a banner reading “Black trans liberation front.”

“We are here standing, bold, to show the people who we are is not a crime,” she said. “Being a trans woman is not a crime, it is not an abomination to the world, we have to celebrate who we are.”

Other Edmontonians were also glad the parade was back.

“I am so, so happy that the pride parade is back after seven years of not coming together as a community to celebrate our diversity,” said Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

“I came from a family who didn’t care for my choices or who I am, and the pride parade is such an important way to remind me that I belong,” said parade-watcher Zenith Kramp.