LGBT History in Canada

If possible, I will try to give it a deeper read-through when I have the time, and post interesting tidbits or facts on here. I do very much want to be more inclusive of communities outside of the three big cities!

In 2010, Jenna Talackova became the first transgender woman to compete in an international beauty pageant, when she represented her native Canada in the 2010 International Queen beauty competition in Thailand. Talackova would then go on to represent Canada in the 2012 Miss Universe pageant.

Canadian Heritage Minutes honours Jim Egan in their first video on LGBTQ rights.

Michael, a gay man from Newfoundland and Labrador, gave this quote as part of a series of interviews about LGBT+ people living in rural areas, called “Out Our Way” (Accessible here on the Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony). 1990.

2002 - In Oshawa, Ontario, a 17-year-old high school student (Marc Hall, left) at Durham Catholic District School Board took his school to court over their refusal to let him attend prom with his boyfriend. After a two day court hearing, it was ruled on May 10th that Hall could attend prom with a male partner. This event was a milestone in Canadian history, and has inspired both a movie and a play. The documentary covering this event can be viewed here. (x) Warning: this documentary does contain homophobia.

This event caused three of the women to be arrested, and they were harassed verbally and physically by the police. The court cases that followed were high profile and sometimes cited as an early galvanizing moment for the local queer community. (x) (x)

Carsey Yee, “Closets for clothes not people”, The Varsity, March 1, 1990. Canada.

The Toronto bathhouse raids, called “Operation Soap” by the police, took place in 1981, which resulted in the arrest of nearly three hundred gay men. Demonstrations were quick to be organized within Toronto. (x)

René Highway was a Cree dancer from Manitoba, who wrote and choreographed a multimedia production called “New Song… New Dance” with his brother, Tomson Highway. The dance focused on the experiences of gay Indigenous males, spanning residential school incidents and later city experiences. René Highway died of AIDs related causes in 1990. (x)

Notably ahead of its time, this movie featured a married woman who became involved in a relationship with another woman. After coming to terms with her sexuality, she leaves her husband to lead a more authentic life. Although the film is dated, it is still recognized as an important development in LGBT Canadian film.

Photo from the B.C. Gay and Lesbian Archives. (x)

These are photos taken in the West End of Vancouver, a notorious gay area, during the 1950s. These are part of the B.C. Gay and Lesbian Archives. (x)