Here in Winnipeg, we are incredibly diverse! Located on Treaty No. 1 Territory – the original lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininiwak, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation – this city at the heart of the continent continues to grow as one of Canada’s most diverse cities.
We are also open, accepting and inclusive, and we respect and honour ethnocultural and GRSD (gender, sexual, and relationship diverse) communities. A vibrant wealth of unique perspectives exist in the open and thrive here. Our team can help you incorporate these perspectives into your upcoming business event in a city that will inspire delegates and welcome them with open arms.
To quote Winnipeg Pride, whom we’ll detail below, “You belong here!”
The Pride of our 2SLGBTQ+ Community
With a rich history of inclusion, support and recognition, Winnipeg has staged Pride annually since 1987.
Over the past 30+ years, Pride Winnipeg has served and celebrated the city’s GSRD community and marked many milestones, from electing North America’s first openly gay mayor to coining the term Two-Spirit.
After successfully hosting Fierté Canada Pride in 2022, this year’s Winnipeg Pride Festival was its biggest yet. From May 26 to June 4, the festival featured an array of events all over the city, and more than 10,000 participants took part in the June 4 parade – including a delegation of 25 members of our team! Even as temperatures soared into the 30s (Celsius), thousands celebrated throughout downtown and at The Forks, with both new Pride attendees and locals who have been celebrating for generations remarking at the sheer size of this year’s festival.
Pride Winnipeg operates in an accessible, inclusive and diverse fashion, providing ASL services, family-friendly areas and accessible entrances. On the sustainability front, the festival promotes alternative transportation, and The Forks has installed additional bike racks to accommodate growing numbers of cyclists. The Forks offers recycling capabilities as well as composting throughout, with vendors required to provide compostable cups, cutlery, containers and straws. The festival is free from plastic water bottles.
To learn more and to make plans to attend Pride Winnipeg 2024, go here for updates and announcements.
Can’t-miss inclusive-focused attractions
To quote Brian Webb, writing about Winnipeg for Homoculture, “This city is truly a haven for the social justice-minded gay traveller, who seeks out more than just a beautiful landscape or lively nightlife scene.”
Canadian Museum for Human Rights: At the gender-inclusive Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), staff members take part in mandatory training on bias and discrimination. Recent leadership team additions include 2SLGBTQ+ employees, while the attraction’s CEO – human rights attorney Isha Khan – has set out to correct past failings through community engagements, policy analyses and overhauls, new in-person exhibitions and tours.
Within the Museum, you’ll find an abundance of 2SLGBTQ+ content, from the iconic same-sex wedding exhibit “Taking the Cake” in the Canadian Journeys gallery to the new major project by the Museum focused on exposing the LGBT Purge in Canada. The Museum also hosted a number of incredible Pride events in 2023, including drag readings and concerts.
Upon request, the Museum can lead delegates on private tours focusing on 2SLGBTQ+ content.
Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq: The Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq is one of the city’s newest cultural institutions, and it has seen plenty of praise from the likes of The New York Times, Smithsonian and TIME. The world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art contains a multitude of works created by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and two-spirit artists, all of whom were brought together by the all-Inuit team that debuted INUA, Qaumajuq’s first exhibit. As you’ll read here on CBC, several members of INUA’s curatorial team are queer or non-binary. They’ve taken pains to highlight queer Inuit history and artistry throughout Qaumajuq’s snow-drift-like exhibits.
Manitoba Museum: The Manitoba Museum’s team has also greatly increased the facility’s 2SLGBTQ+ content, from the creation of their newest exhibit, If These Walls Could Talk: 50 Years of 2SLGBTQ+ Activism in Winnipeg, to hosting a number of Pride events in 2023.
Local businesses and arts organizations waving the Rainbow Flag
Winnipeg has many businesses whose leaders are members of and support the GSRD community.
For nightlife, look no further than Club 200, Fame and Club Happenings. The former has been serving the community for more than two decades, while Fame slays with nightly events sure to get your delegates moving. QPOC-owned and operated Club Happenings, located right in Osborne Village, is the community’s newest club and regularly hosts fabulous events.
The creative force that is Synonym Art Consultation is always staging events and works to celebrate the city’s 2SLGBTQ+ scene. During Pride season, Synonym stages GORGE – an “annual celebration of the legacy and future of 2SLGBTQIA+ art and drag based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Treaty 1 Territory,” while it also stages drag events and all manner of fun things throughout the year that are, “centred around a love for the arts, community, connection, creative expression, kindness and fun while maintaining a safer space and more inclusive place for all.”
At a glance on the culinary scene, Greg and Wayne from Capital Grill (275 Broadway) have created a space where you can count on inspired food and service; Little Brown Jug hosts events and fundraisers for the community and produces the official Pride Festival Queer Beer; Good Neighbour Brewing’s owners Morgan and Amber proudly wave the Rainbow flag outside the taproom at One Sixteen; Oh Doughnuts’ owner Amanda Kinden is a powerful advocate and welcomes customers (like Justin Trudeau! #Doughnutgate) to taste the rainbow; and plenty of bakeries, markets and makers have you covered when it comes to serving up inclusivity.
For a recent snapshot of our culinary scene and its many 2SLGBTQ+ connections, check out this guide from Passport Magazine, one of America’s top gay travel publications.
When it comes to hotels, you’ll find a friendly and supportive reception wherever you go.
The Fairmont Winnipeg is a TAG Approved property, with several other hotels taking part in TAG before the pandemic. Brian Webb of Homoculture is a fan of Alt Hotel Winnipeg, which he writes is “The Best Kept Secret For LGBTQ+ Travellers.”