REGINA — The Queen City Pride (QCP) Parade is returning to Regina.
This year's theme for the parade is “Free to be Me.”
“[This theme means] everyone is free to be exactly who they are. [Someone] should never have to hide who they are as a person,” said QCP co-chair Riviera Bonneau.
The parade is expected to see 120 entries, with over 4,000 participants.
“We have a lot of folks come from Moose Jaw and smaller areas as well,” said Bonneau. The parade also sees people travel across Canada from Halifax to Toronto.
As for their grand marshal, Bonneau said local drag queen Jesse Ireland will take on this year's role.
Planning for the parade begins around October-November, with the QCP and roughly 20 volunteers helping co-ordinate the parade.
“We want to ensure that Regina is a space where you have that freedom to be exactly who you are,“ she said.
Bonneau believes there is still work to be done, including creating more safe spaces and educating people on the LGBTQ2SQIA+ community.
“Some of the board members or the volunteers or people in the community still get ‘drive-by homophobia’. [This is when] people will walk by and yell something at you,” said Bonneau, noting that part of that change also includes policies in Saskatchewan like Bill-137, passed in 2023.
The bill outlines a number of rights that parents have to be involved in their children's (under 16) education and invokes the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution to ensure parents must provide consent if a child wants to change their gender identification in school, according to the government's website.
This has also led to the Pride Flag not being raised at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building with organizations like the QCP banning Sask. Party MLAs from attending their events.
Overall, Bonneau said Regina and the province have become quite accepting of the LGBTQ2SQIA+ community.
The QCP Parade kicks off on Saturday at 12 p.m. The route starts along 12th Avenue, between Montreal Street and Broad Street.
