Pride Winnipeg says there's power in numbers as initiative aims to bring organizations together

Advocates say a new initiative looking to bring together Pride organizations across Manitoba to share resources, including those in rural areas, is long overdue.

Pride Winnipeg announced this week it will use some of the funds it got from the province last year to create the Manitoba Pride Alliance.

2SLGBTQ+ organizations in the province that produce Pride events such as parades, festivals or cultural activities will be part of the alliance, which will host educational workshops, share knowledge and other resources.

Jenn Rands, vice-president of advocacy with Pride Winnipeg and the person who will head the alliance, said she hopes the initiative benefits smaller organizations.

"There's more power in numbers and … definitely with the current climate and the challenges that we face as 2SLGBTQ+ Canadians, it's more important now than ever to grow the Pride movement," Rands said in a Thursday interview with CBC Radio's Up To Speed.

LISTEN | Initiative aims to grow Pride movement in Manitoba: 

Up To Speed6:49Pride across the Prairies: A conversation with the newly appointed chair of the newly created Manitoba Pride Alliance

There are Pride organizations across Manitoba, from Steinbach to Flin Flon. A new initiative from Pride Winnipeg hopes to grow the Pride movement even further. Guest host Brittany Greenslade spoke with Jenn Rands, vice-president of advocacy with Pride Winnipeg.

Pride Winnipeg president Barry Karlenzig said smaller organizations need expertise on administrative things such as creating bank accounts or organizing help merchandise sales.

But he added they also need to support each other on the advocacy side, amid what he says is a rise in hate around Canada and the world.

"Especially [with] what we're seeing in Alberta right now, [this] allows a larger voice to be heard," Karlenzig said, in reference to proposed policy changes affecting transgender and non-binary youth there.

Under Manitoba's new alliance, "it's not just one small Pride," Karlenzig said. "It's now one small Pride with 17 other Prides in the province having that … larger voice out there to ensure that our community is heard, our community is valued."

Part of the provincial grants could be used to pay for security at Pride events, Karlenzig said.

He said he hopes the alliance's model — which Pride Winnipeg believes to be the first of its kind in the country — is replicated elsewhere in Canada, particularly on the Prairies.

"If they could have funding to create a platform like this, they could have that voice and share those resources," he said.

"[That] means that those youth aren't having to flee from their small towns to come to the big city to be accepted or to find resources they need. Those resources would then be available at the towns they're born and raised in."