Pride festivals: breaking the isolation of LGBTQ+ people in rural areas

'A village that supports a member of the queer community is a village that will support all those people.'

Pascal Lessard and his partner bought their farm in 2019. They live in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. It’s a rural area south of Quebec City.

Although they were concerned about how the local population might react after learning they are a same-sex couple, Lessard said he is happy they bought the farm and joined a new community.

“We never had any problems when we arrived here. We didn’t hide, we didn’t try to hide who we were or that we lived together. We haven’t encountered any difficulties or people who reacted negatively,” said Lessard, co-owner of Les Vergers du Cap farm in Chaudière-Appalaches.

The warm reaction may reflect a trend as new pride festivities spring up across Quebec.

Flying in the face of the notion that rural areas are hostile to people of diverse sexual and gender identities, many of these festivals seek to improve the image of life for LGBTQ+ people living outside major urban centres.

Like more than 300 people from LGBTQ+ communities living in rural areas or working in the agricultural sector, Lessard and his partner are members of the organization Fierté agricole.

Since 2012, this non-profit organization has been helping people from LGBTQ+ communities living in rural areas meet and participate in various activities.

“In the farming community, there aren’t many of us, and being so few in such a large area means that we end up pretty isolated in our homes, far from large centres and services,” explains Joé Desjardins, president of Fierté agricole.