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Calgary Pride organizers say they are facing a significant cash crunch, and warn this year could be its last if more money doesn’t start flowing in.
Pride week kicks off Aug. 31, and wraps on Sept. 6 with the annual parade. Organizers say they have the funding to pull off this year’s events, though they have made some scheduling adjustments, with a greater focus on community-based programming.
But the group has put out a call for $250,000 in donations, and says without that cash injection, there will be no money in its reserves to put on events next year.
“It would be devastating to lose Calgary Pride, an organization that’s been around for decades,” said director-at-large Andrea Scheelar.
She says the deficit comes as more groups are competing for grants, and corporate sponsors pull back — an issue Calgary Pride spoke out about last year, and that has affected Pride organizations across the country.
This summer, Pride Toronto said it faced a $700,000 funding shortfall. The City of Vancouver gave $75,000 to help this year’s Pride parade to go ahead, and several cities have called on the federal government to provide more help.
Many groups have put the blame on companies rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office. Trump has criticized DEI initiatives, and taken steps to dismantle such policies among federal services.
“[Businesses are] cutting back on all kinds of community investments, in large part because any kind of controversy is seen as too risky,” said Alison Kemper, associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Last year, Calgary Pride warned the retreat on DEI policies cost $300,000 to their bottom line.
Calgary Pride director-at-large Andrea Scheelar says “would be devastating” if 2026 were to be the last edition of the annual event. (Chelsey Mutter/CBC)
Scheelar said it remains a significant concern, and adds there were a “quite a few” sponsors who gave last year but did not return for 2026.
“We’re just not seeing the same levels of participation. So even when we have the same sponsors participating, they’re participating at a percentage of what they would have previously given,” she said.
At the same time, Scheelar says costs to put on large-scale events have risen, with higher price tags for everything from food to security to renting fences and porta-potties.
Calgary Pride said in a statement the board is “actively reviewing every aspect of the organization” and “nothing is off the table” to reduce costs. It has cancelled its inaugural gala Indigo Nights, after previously postponing it. Scheelar says there have not been any job cuts at this point.
Beyond the drop in corporate money, Scheelar also points to a change in general attitudes towards the 2SLGBTQ+ community, with Calgary Pride noticing an increase in online hate.
“We’ve seen anti-trans rhetoric increase significantly,” she said. “People are more emboldened to be loud about their disdain and their hate. I think we’ve gone so far backwards.”
Despite that, Scheelar said organizers have hope they will see an increase in donations, in order to keep them afloat.
“We’re not sunk. This isn’t despair. This is: we need support,” she said.
“Pride always survives. We always survive, whether it’s two people in a room that are planning a parade on their own. We will always find a way to survive, that’s what our community does.”