Halifax Pride wins bid to host Canada Pride in 2027

Event will showcase Nova Scotia’s queer community on national stage, say organizers

Andrew Sampson · CBC News · 

A year ago, the future of Halifax Pride was in doubt, but following a successful 2024 festival, organizers have announced they’ve won a bid to host the 2027 edition of Canada Pride — paving the way for the organization to host its biggest event yet. 

“We are committed to ongoing growth and learning, and this gives us something very substantive to be looking forward to in the years ahead,” said Halifax Pride board chair Adam Reid in an interview with CBC Radio’s Mainstreet Nova Scotia on Tuesday.

Canada Pride, which was held in Vancouver this year, takes place every two to four years in a host city selected by Fierté Canada Pride, a national association that brings together Pride organizations all over the country.

As part of its bid, Halifax Pride outlined its plan for the festival, which will take place during the organization’s annual festival, but be larger in scope, and include a human rights conference that will take place during the festivities and more than 20 new events.

Reid said Halifax Pride would also like to highlight the work that rural Prides in Nova Scotia have done to spread acceptance across the province, and bring them into the city to showcase the diversity of the province’s queer community.

A rejuvenated Pride

This year’s festival was a major turnaround from 2023, when Halifax Pride did not host a parade, and many of the usual events associated with the festival were cancelled.

Reid said the successful bid for Canada Pride is another sign the festival is back on track.

“We have a new team who all have a lot of experience with Halifax Pride, who are really going to be leading the charge over the next several years,” said Reid, who previously was the executive director of Halifax Pride.

He said Halifax Pride is already working on securing the necessary funding to host the larger event.

“We know this is going to be a significant event for the city, so we’re hoping to see our government partners step up and support us in the ways we need,” he said.

Ahead of this year’s Pride, and during the parade itself, there were calls for the festival to divest from companies on the Canadian boycott, divest and sanction (BDS) list — a group of firms, organizations and people that pro-Palestinian groups say should be boycotted to put pressure on Israel.

• Discourse around Pride and Palestinian rights part of history of activism in the 2SLGBTQ+ community

Halifax Pride takes funding from TD Bank, which is on the BDS list, but the organization has said it is committed to exploring alternative funding sources for next year’s festival. Reid said Tuesday that has not changed.

“Canada Pride doesn’t change any of those commitments we’ve made to continuing that conversation,” he said.

“We know that Pride is political. Pride has always been about protests. It’s always been about advocating for our rights, so we don’t shy away from that. We welcome that, we encourage it.”

In an email, the Halifax Regional Municipality said it wrote a letter of support for the bid, and that it plans to assist the event through the city’s special event task force.

The city said Halifax Pride already receives funding through a municipal cultural event grant, but will be able to apply for additional funding through the city’s major event grant program.