A central Alberta town won’t host its annual parade this year after organizers said a decision to disallow a pro-Alberta float led to a barrage of “online criticism, personal attacks, harassment, and abusive messages.”
The Sundre Pro Rodeo is set to kick off June 18. An annual parade was scheduled for June 20 with the theme: “Celebrating our Sundre pioneers.”
But in a statement posted on its website, the Sundre Pro Rodeo and Race Association announced the parade was cancelled, writing that “a parade entry decision” had generated “strong opinions.”
Darby Crouch, a media spokesperson with the rodeo, said that decision involved a pro-Alberta float that was decorated with multiple Alberta flags.
“We did, regretfully, deny them at first, because there was some extra caution due to what happened in 2022,” Crouch said.
That year, a float appeared in the rodeo that involved depictions of former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who is Sikh. A man wearing a fake beard and turban was seen riding in a manure spreader behind a tractor with the words “The Liberal” pasted on its side.
It was called racist by Jason Nixon, UCP MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, as well as the Dashmesh Culture Centre in Calgary, a Sikh community hub.
“We’re very cautious about anything that has a … political narrative,” Crouch said about this year’s float. “We had, regretfully, not asked for clarification, and a couple days later reached out and did say that they were allowed to be in the [parade].”
Sundre resident Tom Oldfield was one of the people behind the float.
He expressed frustration with the organizers’ handling of the situation, adding he didn’t feel as though he and his wife had received proper assurance the float would be allowed back in or an apology about how things were handled.
While he said he is a “very” big supporter of separation, Oldfield said all the float was intended to do was support the Alberta flag.
“There was nothing on there that said separation at all. All it was is Alberta flags and some songs and passing out Alberta flags,” Oldfield said.
Decision spreads on social media
The decision to disallow and then readmit the float into the parade made the rounds on social media.
Crouch said many online “didn’t believe” that organizers had allowed the float back in, and a narrative emerged that organizers were “anti-Alberta” and were trying to take away freedom of speech.
Angry correspondence arrived in the rodeo’s general email, as well as to the personal emails of its board of directors, she said. Volunteers reading the comments online began to feel unsafe, Crouch added.
“There was one that stood out saying, like, we’re going to hunt the organizers down, publicly humiliate them in front of thousands,” she said.
“The parade and the rodeo rely entirely on volunteers, and that environment just became increasingly difficult to sustain.”
RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said no complaints or threats tied to harassment have been officially made to the RCMP, and there are no active investigations.
Influencers weighed in online
Lawrence Magee, who describes himself as an independent content creator who drew a following during the protests known as the Freedom Convoy, said he began receiving messages about the rodeo’s denial late last week.
“The Sundre Rodeo and Race Association board just rejected a simple float entry decorated with nothing but Alberta flags — no slogans, no banners, just our provincial flag. Their reason? ‘Too political,'” Magee wrote on Facebook on June 11.
“Let that sink in. Flying the Alberta flag in Alberta is now ‘too political.'”
Magee, who broadcasts as Berta Proud Dad online, has more than 200,000 followers on his Instagram account. He was one of many who posted about the move as it spread on social media.
“All I asked was that people go to the parade and wave their Alberta flags, because the Alberta flag belongs to each and every Albertan,” Magee told CBC News.
Organizers and volunteers receiving threats is “not acceptable behaviour,” Magee said.
“I didn’t tell anybody to go threaten anybody. But this is the internet. This is the new era. This is what people feel to do. I get threats on a daily basis because of my political opinion and ideology,” he said.
After he heard about the threats, Magee said he “denounced it right away” online and said, “People need to start smartening up.”
‘It’s really unfortunate’
Sundre is a small town, with a population of a little more than 2,500.
Lana Saunders, secretary for the Sundre and District Nutrition for Learning Society, said that means volunteers from different groups overlap.
News of harassment quickly spread.
“You talk amongst yourselves, right?” she said.
“As a volunteer myself, I understand how much of a challenge it is to just put on events in general … so yes, it is very unfortunate. It is very hard to get volunteers if they are mistreated.”
Saunders’ society, an organization that provides a breakfast and snack program to students, uses the parade as a fundraising opportunity.
“I really wish the political aspect can be left out of it … politics in general have divided society so much over the years now,” Saunders said.
“[The rodeo] brings the community together. It’s something that has been around forever.”
The association said all of the rodeo events will go ahead as scheduled. The event runs June 18-21.
Sundre is about 95 kilometres northwest of Calgary.
