Stampede not allowed in Pride parade for 'foreseeable future' due to abuse by former staffer

The Calgary Stampede will not be allowed to participate in the city’s annual Pride parade for the “foreseeable future,” due to its negligence regarding the sexual abuse of members of the Young Canadians by a former staffer.

The Calgary Stampede will not be allowed to participate in the city’s annual Pride parade for the “foreseeable future,” due to the sexual abuse of members of the Young Canadians by a former staffer.

Calgary Pride organizers said individuals in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who were abused by former Young Canadians staffer Phillip Heerema expressed that the Stampede’s participation in the 2023 parade negatively impacted them, in an emailed statement Wednesday.

“After several months of investigations, we provided ample notice to Calgary Stampede declining their involvement in our parade for the foreseeable future, with accompanying suggestions for change and repair to improve their standing with us and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community,” Anna Kinderwater, the manager of communications for Calgary Pride, said in the statement.

Kinderwater said the Stampede did not respond to their notice.

“We recognize these situations are complex, but accountability for our community is important to us, and we hope they’ll return to discuss repair on a community level in the future,” Kinderwater said.

In an emailed statement, the Calgary Stampede said it understands and respects the concerns about its participation in the 2023 parade.

“We will continue to work with Calgary Pride to address concerns raised by the community,” the Calgary Stampede said in the statement.