“Queer Leadership in Polarizing Times”

The 5th Annual Queer Leadership Symposium will be held on Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, 2026 in the Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building at the Exchange District Campus of Red River College Polytechnic (319 Elgin Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba).

This event is for queer people by queer people. It is intended for aspiring and experienced two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer (2SLGBTQIA+) leaders, and general nonconforming people who have an interest in queer leadership.

Join us for this event to learn, network, and engage in various topics as they relate to leadership.

Participants who are formal, informal, or aspiring leaders will walk away with understanding of how to navigate systems through the experiences and ideas shared by the presenters.

Sessions will be held throughout the day. When registering you will have the opportunity to select the sessions that you wish to attend, but your choices can also be changed on the day of the symposium.

Refreshments and lunch included.

On Friday at 4:30 p.m. there will be a Qmunity Networking event in the Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building; an evening of wine, hors d’oeuvres with Qmunity: a Manitoba Teachers’ Society  equity network. A chance to network with other 2SLGBTQIA+ members after your MTS PD Day session.

Following the Qmunity Networking event, Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the same building, join us for The World We Long For, a panel discussion and book launch with authors Vivek Shraya and Kai Cheng Thom, along with guest local author, Cale Plett. Join Canada’s most beloved trans authors as they release their new novels, The Hystericals, The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class, and The Saw Mouth. These novels question power, call in the truth, and explore emotionally powerful and socially charged topics, including prejudice, mental health, and violence (no graphic descriptions of violence will be included in this event). All allies and book lovers are welcome!

On Saturday from 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Canadian Human Rights Museum (85 Israel Asper Way, Winnipeg, Manitoba) join us for Curating Queer Leadership: Lessons from the LGBT Purge Exhibition. This workshop explores how queer communities have transformed experiences of persecution into collective action, public memory, and institutional change. Drawing on Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge, participants will examine the activism that dismantled the Purge—from ground-level resistance to coalition-building and legal challenges.

The workshop also considers the exhibition itself as a case study in queer leadership: recovering suppressed histories, sharing authority with survivors and 2SLGBTQ+ community members, navigating institutional constraints, and translating oppressive government records into empowering public history. Through guided discussion, participants will consider what these experiences reveal about leadership in relation to storytelling, stewardship, and workplace change.

Presented by: Dr. Scott de Groot

Click here for information and to register.