Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
WINNIPEG PRIDE PARADE AND RALLY 2025
Manitoba Legislative Building
Sunday, June 1, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
(please check against delivery)
Good morning Winnipeg Pride! What a pleasure it is to join you at the Pride 2025 rally as we Rise in Pride and Stand in Strength*.
This annual gathering brings people together in the heart of Treaty One land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis.
Today as we celebrate the two spirit and LGBT communities and the diversity of this province, we acknowledge and celebrate that Manitoba is the ancestral and present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Red River Metis peoples.
Together, we are listening and learning and working to make this province and this country a better place – a place of justice, equity and opportunity for all.
This year’s Pride Festival image is that of a phoenix, rising from the flames more beautiful than ever with new rainbow-hued plumage.
That phoenix is the Pride community. It’s everyone who has ever had to rise above feeling excluded or devalued, everybody who has ever been made to feel like the “them” in an “us and them” world.
The LGBT community has shown the world how to rise above that experience – by coming together to share strength with others, by staying true to yourself, by living joyfully and honestly.
This annual parade is a chance for everyone in Winnipeg to share in that spirit – to be brave, proud and gorgeous just the way they are.
So whether you’re walking in the parade, cheering from the sidelines, or taking in the other activities of Pride season, have a wonderful time and thank you for bringing all your pride and strength of character to our city and province.
And thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers and organizers who make this celebration possible every year.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
