Pride is an acknowledgement of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and all other gender identities, such as pansexual and polyamorous). It spotlights the resilience, celebrates the talent, and recognizes the contributions of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Learn more about identities and evolving terminology.
Pride Season at Saint Mary’s is celebrated throughout June and July, recognizing Pride Month in June and the Halifax Pride festival in July. The Pride flag will be flown on campus throughout June.
Visit our online 2SLGBTQIA+ hub for resources at Saint Mary’s and join in supporting and uplifting members of our #SMUcommunity!
Events
Paint Your Pride!
Tuesday, June 17
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
The Quad outside the O’Donnell-Hennessey Student Centre
Celebrate Pride Month with colour and creativity at an outdoor chalk party! Express yourself through colourful chalk art, make your own custom buttons, enjoy free cake, and wave your Pride flags high. Whether you're coming to create, connect, or just soak up the celebration, this is your space to shine.
Everyone is welcome — come show your true colours!
Paint Your Pride (2023)
Two-Spirit flag drawn in chalk
SMU in the Halifax Pride Parade
Saturday, July 19
12 p.m.
Downtown Halifax
The entire SMU Community is invited to join SMU Alumni and SMUSA in the Halifax Pride Parade. The group will walk the parade route through downtown Halifax and celebrate our Husky Pride! Email alumni@smu.ca to sign up.
Saint Mary’s Pride Collection
The Saint Mary’s Campus Store has Pride merchandise to help you celebrate Pride Season in style!
Available at the Campus Store in the Loyola Academic Building from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and the Bookstore in the Student Centre from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday to Friday or order online.
Resources
The SMU Pride Society is dedicated to providing a safe space and advocating on behalf of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community at Saint Mary's University to ensure an equitable and just campus. The society embodies an intersectional framework whilst encouraging meaningful conversations and providing peer support regarding queer-centric issues (eg. sexual health, transitioning, religion, race, gender-expression, etc.).
The Pride Centre offers a safe space on campus for all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. SMUSA strives to create a welcoming and accepting environment for all. If you are looking for a hang-out spot or a place to study, check out our Pride Centre! Open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in Student Centre room 106.
The SMU Student Health Clinic offers letters of readiness for gender-affirming surgery, hormone therapy and more. Dr. Mark Williams is certified by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Visit the Student Health Clinic on the 4th floor of the Student Centre or email student.health@smu.ca for more information.
Derek Voegeli with The Counselling Centre is certified by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and brings extensive knowledge of trans and queer mental health to Saint Mary’s. The Counselling Centre offers free, confidential services to all registered SMU students. Email counselling@smu.ca or visit their webpage for more information.
The SMUSA Extended Health plan includes Gender-Affirming Care (GAC), such as coverage for HRT drug plans, Mental Health Practitioners, and select procedures. To learn more, email healthplan.smusa@smu.ca or visit Health Plan Manager Sarah Bray at the Student Centre, room 522.
The Patrick Power Library is proud to offer a wealth of resources that support learning, reflection, and celebration during Pride:
Online Book Display – Explore a curated collection of books for Pride, created in collaboration with the SMU Pride Society.
2SLGBTQ+ Community Library Guide — Your starting point for academic and community-based resources on 2SLGBTQ+ research topics, featuring suggested journals, search strategies, databases, government information, information about SMU services, and other resources. All books can be borrowed with your SMU ID card, or accessed online using your SMU email and password.
Academics and research
Dr. Luke Hathaway, Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature
New course highlights queer literature and experience
Laura Flight of The Signal recently spoke with Dr. Luke Hathaway about a new course he introduced in Winter 2025—Queer Lives & Letters.
“More than offering just another literature course, Hathaway’s intention for Queer Lives & Letters was to meet the needs of SMU students in the queer community. Showing up for his students every week was “a vocation of care.” Being an openly trans professor on campus, he says, is a “profession of care.”
“There’s no other class really like it,” said Alex Phillips, one of Hathaway’s students, “where you can talk about queerness in a safe space with other queer people.”
Dr. Hathaway spoke with The Signal about safety and uncertainty for queer and trans people, the importance of queer community-building, history, politics and coming out. Read ‘Queer literature for queer liberation’ by Laura Flight for The Signal.
Dr. Maryam Dilmaghani and Daniel Keays, PhD Candidate
Researchers addressing 2SLGBTQ+ poverty in Canada
Dr. Maryam Dilmaghani, Professor of Economics, is co-directing with Dr. Nick Mulé, Professor of Social Work and Sexuality Studies at York University, a six-year research project aimed at understanding and addressing poverty in 2SLGBTQ+ communities. This national initiative explores sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, age, (dis)Ability, etc. and how they intersect with economic inequality.
“2SLGBTQ+ Poverty in Canada: Improving Livelihood and Social Well-being” brings together over 25 academic researchers and 27 community partners to produce high-impact, policy-driven research that drives meaningful change. The project seeks to quantify the extent of 2SLGBTQ+ poverty, identify its root causes, and develop an evidence-based action plan to serve as a resource for governments, non-profits, and businesses committed to creating lasting solutions. Read more.
Recent faculty publications
Towards a Queer and Trans Ethic of Care in Education: Beyond the Limitations of White, Cisheteropatriarchal, Colonial Care by Bishop Owis, Associate Professor in Women and Gender Studies.
‘Why Don’t We Center Abolition in Queer Criminology?’ Crime & Delinquency. Co-authored by Allyn Walker, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology.
Ovid and Masculinity in English Renaissance Literature, edited by J. Garrison and Dr. Goran Stanivukovic, Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. Selected for the Lambda Literary November’s Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books, non-fiction category, 2020.
Recent theses from Women and Gender Studies graduate students
‘Queering the translation : unveiling Chinese fansubbed homosexuality in Queer as Folk’, Xin Wen, Oct 21, 2024
‘History, Huh: A Post-Modern Study of the Consumption of Queer Romance’, Alo Greening, Aug 24, 2024
‘In The Name Of The Fear, The Shame & The Hegemonic Guilt: A SIRmon From Trans Christian Men To The Church’, Emery Levi Langille, Apr 23, 2024
Related Content
Pride at SMU online hub: Resources, Events, News and more
Changing your name and pronouns in email, Banner and Brightspace
Faculty and staff: use the Email Signature Template to add pronouns to your email signature
Check the Student Life events calendar for all upcoming events!