Dear MSVU Community,
With the rise in anti-gay and anti-trans hate in Canada and beyond, a welcoming and inclusive space for those within 2SLGBTQIA+ community is needed more than ever.
At MSVU, we champion what makes each member of our community unique and proudly stand with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. We are grateful for the contributions of our community members engaged in 2SLGBTQIA+ research, course delivery and development, support services, and advocacy.
Last year, I asked the MSVU community to join me in celebrating my third Pride at MSVU, and you – the MSVU Community – made it our best and biggest yet. Our Halifax Pride Parade group and our Annual MSVU Pride BBQ had the largest attendance we’ve ever had, and your support of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community was seen and felt on and off campus.
Halifax Pride Parade
The Halifax Pride Parade will take place on Saturday, July 19 and the entire MSVU community is invited to join our 2025 parade entry. The parade will start at 12 p.m.; participants will need to arrive at the marshalling area near downtown Halifax at an earlier time (details to come). There is a new parade route this year – information can be found here on the new route and parade accessibility.
Please email events@msvu.ca by Monday, July 14 to sign up and to receive updates in the days leading up to the parade. Pride T-shirts will be provided, please include your preferred shirt size when you RSVP.
Pride BBQ
All MSVU students, faculty and staff are invited to the Annual MSVU Pride BBQ on Thursday, July 24 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Rosaria Dining Hall. Please RSVP by emailing events@msvu.ca before the end of the day on Friday, July 18.
The first Halifax Pride March took place in July 1988 and to honour those who marched in that inaugural event, Pride is celebrated primarily in July in Halifax and at MSVU. In many parts of the world June marks Pride month with its roots being traced to the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969. This pivotal moment sparked by a series of protests against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, has grown into a global movement where we celebrate and honour 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and reflect on the ongoing journey toward equity and inclusion.
Let’s keep moving forward in our shared efforts to ensure MSVU is a safe and welcoming place for all.
Happy Pride!
Joël
Dr. Joël Dickinson
President and Vice-Chancellor
Mount Saint Vincent University
*2SLGBTQIA+ is an acronym for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual, while + stands for other ways individuals express their gender and sexuality outside heteronormativity and the gender binary.