A float from the St. Mary's First Nation leads the 11th annual Fredericton Pride parade in Fredericton, N.B., on July 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray
FREDERICTON – Organizers of the annual Pride festival in Fredericton say they’ve cancelled this year’s edition because its board members are facing intense harassment.
In a social media post late Thursday night, Fierté Fredericton Pride says people have been posing as the organization’s board members on social media and involving their workplaces.
The post says board members’ “well-being and livelihoods have been negatively impacted” by the harassment.
It says organizers cancelled this year’s festival out of safety concerns for themselves and for this year’s performers and volunteers.
The volunteer-run group says any outstanding invoices will be paid and the organization will be left “in good order.”
Fierté Fredericton Pride was scheduled to run from July 12-24, with activist group Fredericton Palestine Solidarity leading the event’s pride parade on July 21.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2024.