Fort Erie raises Pride flag after earlier Pride Niagara dispute

Brent Jones
June 3, 2026 at 2:04 PM

The Pride flag was raised at Fort Erie town hall Wednesday morning, weeks after Mayor Wayne Redekop said the town would not participate in Pride Niagara’s flag-raising under new financial terms.

Redekop, members of council and residents gathered at town hall on June 3 to raise the flag in celebration of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Credit: Town of Fort Erie | Facebook

“The Pride flag is universally shared and will be displayed throughout June in honour of Pride Month,” the town said in a Facebook post.

The town said Fort Erie is “a community for everyone that celebrates diversity, unity and kindness.”

The local flag-raising comes after Redekop told Fort Erie Radio in April that the town would not join Pride Niagara’s 16th annual regional flag-raising because municipalities were being asked to buy tickets to the Niagara UNITY Awards as part of this year’s participation model.

“They were requiring us to buy a table of tickets at their gala in order to fly the flag,” Redekop said at the time. “That doesn’t compute.”

Redekop said then the town is willing to raise flags in support of community organizations, but not under a requirement to pay. He also said Fort Erie has a long-standing relationship with the Pride community locally and across Niagara.

The town did not refer to the earlier Pride Niagara dispute in its post announcing Wednesday’s flag-raising.