Last August, a team from the Rainbow Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (or REKH-CSEA), a community-based research project at the University of Alberta, traveled to Montreal. Our goal: to meet with members of the local queer entrepreneurial ecosystem. While Quebec and Alberta may seem worlds apart when it comes to 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, this Montreal getaway revealed a shared desire: to understand and challenge the systemic barriers that hinder the career paths of queer people across the country.
Conceived and led by Glynnis Lieb and Michael Lounsbury, with Anne-José Villeneuve and Gillian Robinson as Francophone co-leads, REKH-CSEA advances an emancipatory perspective: an entrepreneurship that promotes holistic individual, community and societal well-being through socio-economic liberation. We go beyond the traditional framework (business creation, wealth accumulation) in favor of an entrepreneurship that liberates from the oppression of economic powers and social hierarchies.
By leveraging various research methods (focus groups, listening sessions, archival work, etc.), we will create targeted resources, programs, and supports that respond to community-identified and context-specific needs and opportunities. In this way, we are committed to helping 2SLGBTQIA+ businesses thrive by maximizing inclusivity and strengthening initiatives by and for the community.
A bilingual project bringing together diverse communities
From the very beginning of the project, linguistic accessibility and Francophone representation were essential. In Montreal, we centered French-language voices and offered simultaneous interpretation to unilingual Anglophone colleagues. But planning events and ensuring that they unfold organically in both languages remains a significant challenge. This sociolinguistic dance is characteristic of Montreal but also of Francophone settings outside of Quebec. In the coming months, we are planning additional visits to French-language minority communities in order to better understand the complexities faced by local organizations and businesses.
To ensure that diverse voices are represented in our approach and results, the Mobile Team traveled nationwide, from West to East, from North to South: from Vancouver to St. John’s Newfoundland, from Whitehorse to Winnipeg, via Toronto, Saskatoon, Yellowknife, Halifax, Montreal, and more recently Calgary. Through targeted meetings with organizations and various networking opportunities, this national scan helps us better understand the specific dynamics in diverse regions of Canada.
The Yukon and the Northwest Territories, where many entrepreneurs are both queer and Indigenous, teach us that services must take intersectionality into account to better meet community needs. In the Prairies and Maritimes, building inclusive spaces requires significant emotional labor, as many queer businesses are also places of care where community members can develop a sense of belonging. Across the country, people are finding creative ways to show solidarity and help one another despite the physical distance.
Our mobile visit to Montreal was also fruitful and rich in authentic exchanges. The joy of interacting with community members (QueerTech, Aide aux Trans du Québec, Chambre de commerce LGBT du Québec , Gris Montréal, Fugues) and the satisfaction of discovering entrepreneurial community-building efforts outside of cisheteronormativity inspire us and have led to lasting human relationships. Whether it was evenings in the Village or moments spent perusing books at the Eugelionne, our visit to Montreal was truly fulfilling. The report of this visit will soon be available online.
See you in Edmonton
The next highlight of the project will be our conference, which will take place in Edmonton from November 12 to 15, 2025, under the theme “Making a Life, Making a Living.” This event will bring together diverse voices from the community, entrepreneurial, academic, and government sectors to celebrate 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurship through the lens of connection, knowledge, joy, and empowerment. The program will include plenaries, interactive workshops, exhibits, traditional ceremonies, networking opportunities, performances, and a host of other queer joy events! Follow us on social media to see the full lineup.
Looking for a Western getaway this fall? Register for the conference and join us in November. Located on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River and less than a 4-hour drive from the Rockies, Alberta’s capital awaits!
Funded by Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC), with support from the Government of Canada, the Rainbow Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (REKH-CSEA) is hosted at the University of Alberta’s Fyrefly Institute for Gender and Sexual Diversity.
INFOS | For more information, visit www.rekh.ca
or email us at [email protected].
– Text : Anne-José Villeneuve and Gillian Robinson for REKH-CSEA
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Tracer des ponts queer, un projet pancanadien d’entrepreneuriat libérateur
