When Saint John, N.B., holds its annual Pride celebration in August, it’s expecting a new group of participants — Americans seeking a safe haven from the “scary” reality of living under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Samantha White, who helps organize Pride events in Bangor, Maine, said there has been a lot of fear within the LGBTQ+ community since Trump’s election in November. “Things are really very scary right now,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re trying really hard to focus on the positives … but it’s hard in these unprecedented times.”
White said she jumped at the invitation from Saint John, which is about a three-hour drive to the east. “We’re really excited that Saint John is working with us, given that Canada is a little bit friendlier,” she said. “So I’m hoping we can get a big group up there … and see what it’s like as a safe spot to go hang out and meet queer family from across the border.”
Alex Saunders, president of Saint John Pride, said it was important to invite Americans as they face rising hate at home and feel targeted by the Trump administration.
“It quickly became clear to me … that it’s possible some Americans may not get to celebrate (Pride) in the manner they’d like to,” Saunders said, raising the possibility of protests. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
White cited a number of new U.S. policies that target transgender and non-binary people.
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Trump has signed an executive order saying the U.S. government only recognizes two sexes and has had any mention of the words “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” or “transgender” removed from the White House website.
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He has ordered that transgender military members be removed from their roles by the end of March, unless they are granted a waiver in cases where there is “compelling government interest in retaining the service member who directly supports warfighting.”
He has also signed an order that would pull funding for gender-affirming care for people under 19 — though this measure has so far been blocked in four states.
White said the orders are a blatant, hateful attack on transgender people, and it’s time for LGBTQ+ people across borders to come together and speak out.
“They’re trying to come for our trans friends and family, and trying to divide us,” she said. “They’re using the tactic of overload and overwhelm so we don’t know where to start or what to fight first.”
Vivian Myers-Jones, a dual Canadian-U.S. citizen who works with Saint John Pride, was inspired to team up with Bangor Pride after travelling regularly between her home in New Brunswick and Maine for gender-affirming health care.
Myers-Jones is an American military veteran who receives the majority of her health care in the United States with coverage through its Veterans Affairs Department.
“Since coming out as being trans myself, I started connecting with the community on both sides of the border,” she said in an interview. “There’s an international border, but it feels like we are all part of the same family.”
Maine’s Democratic governor has been making waves for sparring with Trump over his policies targeting trans people.
On Feb. 21, Gov. Janet Mills and Trump went head to head during a meeting at the White House, with Mills telling the president “We’ll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.
Saint John Pride has extended an invitation to Mills to walk in their parade. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Myers-Jones said as the New Brunswick Pride event welcomes Americans to celebrate in Saint John, it’s important to remember that until last fall, the province’s LGBTQ+ community was battling a policy that barred teachers from using the pronouns and chosen names of transgender and non-binary students under 16 without parental consent.
The policy, known as 713, was ultimately reversed after Susan Holt’s Liberals defeated the Progressive Conservative government of Blaine Higgs.
“We are just coming out of the dismal times of everything involving Policy 713 … all the bigotry that the Higgs government was pushing,” she said.
While she welcomes the opportunity to team up with Saint John, White said she wants Canadians to know the current hostility makes celebrating Pride in the U.S. all the more important. Plans for this year’s Bangor Pride will include a letter-writing campaign and other politically focused endeavours that haven’t happened in previous years, she said.
“We’re all going to come together and see that we’re not alone, and feel that we’re in the fight together,” she said.