By Emily Milligan, April 29 2026—
After her first National Pride in Business Conference, attendee Kennedy Foster found something she’d longed for: true acceptance. Now president of the Business Pride Club (BPC), she hopes students will walk away from their upcoming Pride in Business Conference feeling as she did.
On May 2 and 3, the BPC is hosting their sixth annual National Pride in Business Conference. The multi-day event on the UCalgary campus will host keynote speakers, workshops, mentorship sessions, industry panels, career fairs and a gala.
“This conference is here to help guide you and tell you that it's okay to be who you are,” says Foster, in an interview with The Gauntlet.
Focusing on promoting authenticity among 2SLGBTQIA+ students and allies, the conference is an opportunity for students to connect with industry professionals and peers to support personal and professional growth.
This year’s conference theme, Pride in Community, highlights the growing importance of connection and community. Foster says the theme reflects the conference’s role as a space for attendees across Canada to gather and find support in one another, especially as shifting laws and workplace stigma continue to affect 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
“It's become increasingly important that we stick together…and be a voice to support people who aren't in a place to come out, or to be themselves,” says Foster.
That unity is emphasized throughout the event, which features panel speakers from a range of industries beyond business, including arts and sciences. Many panellists are 2SLGBTQIA+ activists and industry professionals themselves, who draw on their personal experiences during the conference.
“We're not just catering to business students,” says Foster. “We really try to make it open for everyone.”
The free event welcomes all post-secondary students, regardless of their field of study, setting the conference apart from other traditional networking events. Compared to these events, which can have a larger student-to-industry professional ratio, the Business Pride Conference offers a more intimate environment with more opportunities for students to connect with professionals.
“It's an amazing opportunity to network,” says Foster. “We have all these intimate sessions where you can talk to people in a 10-to-one, if not smaller, situation.”
Specifically, Foster points out the Rainbow Roundtable - a more intimate moment of the conference and her personal favourite. The Rainbow Roundtable, focused on authenticity, brings students and mentors together in small groups to discuss their experiences being queer and how best to support the community. A valuable setting, Foster says, for building both professional and personal connections.
“It’s a great way to make friends,” says Foster. “We have people coming from all of Canada…it's a great way to have national-based connections.”
As a new addition to the conference, BPC is welcoming non-profit organizations from different sectors, giving students the chance to connect and explore potential volunteer opportunities. Many of the non-profits will also be keynote speakers and attend workshops.
By including organizations from diverse industries, Foster hopes to attract students beyond business and create a larger 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Ultimately, she wants attendees to leave the conference feeling inspired, reassured and confident in who they are, as she did.
“I hope everybody feels reassured that it's okay to be who you are, and that you can be successful and well-received despite all these things that you think, or people have made you think.”
More information on BPC and the National Pride in Business Conference can be found here: https://businessprideclub.wixsite.com/ucalgary.
