Moving Forward Together: A Message from Vancouver Pride Society

Over the past years, we have heard from many members of our community who have asked Vancouver Pride Society to take a clearer position on issues impacting our community and our movement.

Since a new Board of Directors began its term on April 1, we have spent time listening, reflecting, reviewing past decisions, and considering how VPS can best fulfill its mission in a complex and evolving moment for our community.

This year’s theme, Unapologetically Queer, is an invitation for all of us to show up fully as ourselves. We are unapologetically lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, Two-Spirit, queer, non-binary, ace, intersex, questioning, and more. We are people of many cultures, abilities, faiths, identities, backgrounds, and experiences.

Everyone within the expansive 2SLGBTQIA+ community belongs here.

We know that some members of our community feel unheard, excluded, hurt, or disconnected from Pride. We acknowledge that experience. We have not always met our own commitments to community engagement, transparency, and inclusion. While intentions matter, impact matters more. We take responsibility for where we have fallen short and are committed to rebuilding trust through sustained and accountable action.

Pride has always contained complexity.

Pride began as resistance. The gathering and celebration of queer and trans people in public spaces was, and continues to be, an act of courage. Over time, Pride has grown into something larger: a protest, a celebration, a community gathering, a cultural movement, and a call to action. It is joyful and challenging. It honours how far we have come while reminding us how much work remains.

We recognize that our movement is not perfect, and neither is Vancouver Pride Society. As our communities change, Pride must continue to learn, evolve, and grow alongside them. Our role is not to determine who belongs in our community, but to help hold space where all 2SLGBTQIA+ people can gather, celebrate, advocate, challenge one another, and continue building a stronger movement together.

What remains unchanged is our commitment to opposing all forms of oppression, discrimination, hatred, and violence.

As an organization rooted in human rights, Vancouver Pride Society rejects transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, ableism, misogyny, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, all forms of racism, including anti-Indigenous racism and anti-Black racism, and all forms of exclusion that undermine the dignity of our communities.

Queer and trans people are not spared from violence, conflict, persecution, or displacement. Across the world, members of our communities are living through war, genocide, colonial violence, and attacks on their rights and safety. We recognize the devastating impacts of violence against queer and trans people in places including Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, and here at home, where rising attacks on queer and trans rights continue to threaten safety and belonging.

Here, we recognize that our work takes place on the stolen and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. We acknowledge that colonial systems have sought to erase Indigenous identities, cultures, and Two-Spirit people, and that this harm continues today. We remain committed to continuing the work of reconciliation by listening to Indigenous and Two-Spirit communities, supporting Two-Spirit leadership, and honouring the voices, stories, and traditions that have always been part of our communities.

Being Unapologetically Queer means recognizing that our liberation is interconnected. We know that the safety, dignity, and freedom of queer and trans people are connected to the safety, dignity, and freedom of all communities. We reject violence, hatred, and dehumanization in all its forms, and we reject attempts to justify harm or pit communities against one another based on identity, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or politics.

We know members of our community hold different perspectives and have asked Pride to respond in different ways to global events. While there may not always be agreement on the role Pride should play, we remain committed to listening with care, engaging in good faith, and creating spaces where all 2SLGBTQIA+ people can belong and be heard.

We are a diverse community facing growing hostility beyond our doors: rising attacks on queer and trans rights, increasing censorship, and escalating violence. We cannot afford to turn that same hostility on one another.

We know that our differences are real, but what connects us is greater than what divides us. Pride is not one singular experience of safety, because safety is shaped by our different histories, identities, and lived experiences. Instead, we strive to build safer spaces together, intentionally, through ongoing dialogue, mutual care, accountability, and a shared commitment to collective liberation.

We recognize that for some members of our community, these commitments may feel overdue. Others may question whether trust can be rebuilt. We understand that trust is not restored through statements alone, but through consistent action over time.

As an organization, we are moving from reflection to action. We are committed to strengthening year-round community engagement, creating more opportunities for meaningful dialogue, and ensuring that community voices continue to inform our priorities, policies, partnerships, and programming. We will continue building relationships across the diversity of our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, especially with those who have not always felt represented, included, or connected to Pride. We also recognize the importance of transparency and accountability. As this work progresses, we will share updates with our community and create opportunities for ongoing feedback so that our commitments remain informed by the people we serve.

We do not expect everyone to agree. Pride has always been a space where different perspectives, experiences, and visions for liberation coexist. Our commitment is not to unanimity, but to respectful dialogue, authentic engagement, and a stronger community rooted in dignity, belonging, and collective care.

Pride was built by people who chose to show up, speak out, and care for one another in the face of injustice. To be Unapologetically Queer is to embrace who we are, to stand with one another, and to continue building a movement where every member of our community can live with dignity, safety, and belonging.

Pride is not strengthened by silence or by shutting one another out. It is strengthened through courage, accountability, compassion, and the willingness to keep showing up for each other; even when the work is difficult.

We look forward to continuing this work together.