Steinbach Pride (also known as the March for Equality) is an annual
pride march
The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each Ju ...
and rally in
Steinbach, Manitoba
Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...
. The first event, which was attended by 3,000 people, was held on July 9, 2016. It garnered national attention in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
after no elected officials of the area chose to attend.
History
In spring 2013, the
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National Deve ...
provincial government tabled Bill 18, an anti-bullying bill, which required all publicly funded schools to support anti-bullying student groups, including those supporting students of "all sexual orientations and gender identities," such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs).
Some socially conservative groups such as Southland Community Church and
Steinbach Christian School
Steinbach Christian School (SCS; formerly Steinbach Christian High School) is a co-educational independent day school in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. The school comprises a Junior School (Kindergarten-Grade 4), a Middle School (grades 5-8) and ...
opposed the bill on grounds that it violated their religious freedom, and Steinbach City Council passed a resolution asking the government to review the issue. A prayer meeting in Steinbach against Bill 18 drew 1,200 people. Bill 18 passed without amendments in September, and has not been rescinded even after the Progressive Conservatives came into power.
In 2016, Steinbach resident Michelle McHale petitioned Hanover School Division, asking for an inclusive curriculum, while the board responded by citing an internal policy not to discuss same-sex relationships in the classroom. It also denied a similar request from a lesbian student in one of their schools. McHale and her partner then filed a Human Rights Complaint against Hanover School Division.
McHale, who had been involved in
Pride Winnipeg
Pride Winnipeg Festival is a 10-day LGBT pride festival, held annually in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Support for the parade grew when news and criticisms broke that neither the mayor of Steinbach, their provincial representative, nor their federal representative would attend. Federal MP
Ted Falk
Theodore J. "Ted" Falk (born May 23, 1960) is a Canadian politician, who currently represents the electoral district of Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, he was first elected in a by-elec ...
claimed a conflict in his schedule with Frog Follies festival in
St-Pierre-Jolys
St-Pierre-Jolys (formerly ''Rivière-aux-Rats''/Rat River, ''St-Pierre''/St. Pierre) is a village in the Canadian province of Manitoba, located southeast of Winnipeg on Highway 59 near the Rat River. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality o ...
, but when the Follies organizers publicly asked him to attend Steinbach Pride instead, Falk came out to say he would not attend because of “values of faith, family and community.”
At first, the
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
denied the organizers' application for a permit to march on the street and asked the parade to stay on the sidewalk, but were able to negotiate a route with the city. The parade route went from E.A. Friesen Park to Steinbach City Hall, where speakers addressed a crowd that spilled out beyond the building's lawn.