'Stand up for our lives': Winnipeg vigil honours trans, non-binary people who recently died in U.S.

CBC

22-02-2025

The glow of lit candles illuminated a transgender and non-binary flag displayed at a Winnipeg vigil, along with the faces of community members mourning the loss of three people in the U.S. who organizers say recently died as a result of transphobic violence.
The vigil, which was held on the steps at the Manitoba Legislative Building on a cold Friday evening, honoured the lives lost south of the border and, according to organizers, reinforced the need for Manitobans to stand in solidarity against harmful rhetoric parroted in Canada.
"Our trans kids deserve to grow into trans adults and our trans adults deserve to grow into trans elders. We deserve to live," said Charlie Eau, who co-organized the vigil on behalf of Trans Manitoba, a non-profit dedicated to transgender outreach, equity and advocacy.
Eau was among roughly 20 people who joined to underline the kind words from the families and communities shared on social media in remembrance of Sam Nordquist, Tahiry Broom and Elisa Rae Shupe.
Nordquist, 24, was a transgender man from Minnesota who was killed while travelling in New York. Investigators found Nordquist's remains on Feb. 13 and believe he was subjected to physical abuse between December 2024 and February 2025, according to a news release from the New York State Police.
Broom, 29, was a transgender woman who was shot near an apartment complex in Michigan on Feb. 9, a news release said.
Shupe, who was a non-binary person, army veteran and the first U.S. citizen to change their legal sex to non-binary, committed suicide on Jan. 27, and left a note explaining their reasons. Railing against the racism and anti-trans agenda of the country they served, Shupe wrote: "You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people because you give birth to more of us each day."
Eau said it's both terrifying and dangerous how a "rapid onslaught of targeted hate" has affected the gender-diverse community in the U.S. and the way this rhetoric is influencing the political atmosphere in Canada.
Last month U.S. President Donald Trump repealed 78 executive orders made by his predecessor, Joe Biden, including those combating discrimination against 2SLGBTQ+ rights.
Trump declared that the U.S. will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and signed orders ending gender-affirming care for people under 19 years old, which was recently blocked by a federal judge, and barring transgender women from women's sports.
When asked last month about Trump's executive orders, federal Progressive Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he was "only aware of two" genders, adding that he believes the government should let people "make their own personal decisions."
There are at least 100,000 people in Canada who have reported being transgender or non-binary, according to the 2021 census.
Poilievre and Manitoba PC leadership candidates Wally Daudrich and Obby Khan are politicians "who openly parrot the rhetoric of American politicians who are targeting queer and transgender people in ways that are impacting our lives, our jobs, our ability to be employed and housed and educated," Eau said, pointing to Khan's role in the PCs' parental rights campaign in the 2023 election.
In 2021, Wally Daudrich referred to U.S. assistant health secretary Rachel Levine as a trans woman, as a "man dressed in woman's clothing.
"It's a really scary and precarious time for trans and non-binary people across Turtle Island regardless of the border," Eau said.
Trevor Kirczenow, a transgender man who helped organize the vigil, said it's unfortunate to see Canadian politicians use harmful language toward the gender -diverse community in ways that threaten their livelihood, well-being and safety.
"I think words are important and when we hear our leaders, our politicians speaking like that, it affects our community and it affects the way that trans and non-binary people are treated," he said.
Both organizers planned the vigil to remember the victims and remind Manitobans that transgender people deserve to be respected, valued, cared for and seen as equal.
The vigil was also meant to show transgender people that they are loved and supported within their community, despite harmful beliefs that say otherwise.
"We are here to remember them and I don't want any more people to have their lives ended in that same way," Kirczenow said.
Miguel Stamato held up a sign calling for justice at the vigil saying that he was deeply saddened by the stories of those who died in the U.S.
"It's hard to come across ideas that believe that some people should have less rights than others, and it's just so repressive. It's a sad thing to think and I hope that a year from now we'll look back at this as a horrible time and remember things not to be repeated," Stamato said.
Steph Adamob said they attended the vigil for the people who couldn't be there to show support for the victims, and to try to be the adult that they needed while growing up.
When navigating anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric, Adamob said it's been helpful to have a "thick skin because you will get comments, you will get questions, you will find yourself in situations where you're not comfortable."
Adamob said it's also helpful to have a sense of humour and be surrounded by a community filled with love and encouragement during challenging times.