Edmonton launches grants, action plan for inclusive businesses

A group of Edmontonians celebrate Pride in an undated file photo. (CTV News Edmonton)

Edmonton will shell out $770,000 in funding for businesses that take steps to promote LGBTQ2S+ initiatives, and Mayor Andrew Knack says that’s just the beginning for promoting inclusion in the city.

The Beyond Belonging program, which officially launched this month, is the result of a 2025 survey that suggested LGBTQ2S+ Edmontonians were witnessing more discrimination or racism than the overall population, according to city communities director Chelsea Hawrelak.

The grant gave 12 organizations $750,000 last year.

City business owners who complete the national Rainbow Registered Accreditation Program will also be eligible for rebates.

“This is complex work, which is also why we have empowered groups to lead efforts as well, because it won’t just be done by the city alone. This is very much a community activation,” Knack told media at city hall Wednesday.

The city also plans to spend grant money on murals that promote messages of inclusion, diversity and belonging.

The full action advisory committee plan for safety and inclusion includes seven action areas and 53 sub-actions.

Those plans include designing safe public spaces, strengthening city responses to reports of hate, maintaining intersectionality and increasing LGBTQ2S+ representation in decision-making.

That last element, advocate Michael Phair says, was hard-fought for.

Phair was part of the community that first created palpable Pride movements in the city, including the Edmonton Queer History Project.

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“On June 6, 1993, Mayor Jan Reimer declared Edmonton’s first gay and lesbian pride. In previous years, members of the community had lobbied for such a day and proposed proclamations, and they were defeated by city council with very demeaning remarks,” he told reporters.

Those remarks included asking advocates if council should next proclaim a “day for chimpanzees.”

“I and many others remember June 6. For us, it was a huge victory, like winning a gold cup, and it reinvigorated us to continue to advocate.”

Hawrelak says tangible action in the city is just beginning.

“Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe and free to be themselves just as they are,” she said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch