Douglas Wilson (1950–1992) was a Canadian gay activist, graduate student, publisher and writer born in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. In 1975, he gained prominence in a fight for gay rights with the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
. The university's dean of the College of Education refused to allow Wilson into the school system to supervise practice teachers because of his public involvement with the gay liberation movement. Wilson was vice-president of the Gay Community Centre Saskatoon and had been trying to start a gay academic union at the university. The
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission is a body within the Government of Saskatchewan whose mission is "To promote and protect the individual dignity, fundamental freedoms and equal rights of Saskatchewan citizens''.''"Stubblejumper Press, a small publishing house dedicated to works by Canadian lesbians and gay men. The company's first title was Wilson's own poetry collection ''The Myth of the Boy''. He served as executive director of the Saskatchewan Association on Human Rights from 1978 to 1983. In 1983 Wilson moved to Toronto to work for the
Toronto Board of Education
The Toronto Board of Education (TBE; commonly known as School District 15), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Toronto, is the former secular school district serving the pre-merged city of Toronto. The board offices were l ...
as an advisor to the Race Relations and Equal Opportunity Office. In 1984 he became one of the founding publishers of '' Rites: for lesbian and gay liberation''.
Wilson was the first openly gay candidate to be nominated by a major political party to stand for Parliament, as a candidate of the
in the Toronto riding of Rosedale in the 1988 election. During the campaign he was diagnosed with
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
. He spent the rest of his life as an AIDS activist, helping to found
AIDS Action Now!
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
and founding chairperson of the Canadian Network of Organizations for People Living With AIDS. Wilson published his partner Peter McGehee's novels, ''Boys Like Us'' (1991) and ''Sweetheart'' (1992). One month before his death, he completed McGehee's notes of his third novel, ''Labour of Love'' (1993). Wilson died on September 24, 1992, at the age of 42.
In 1995 the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
's gay organization (Gays and Lesbians at the U of S, GLUS) established the Doug Wilson Award, given annually to honour those individuals who have shown leadership and courage in advancing the rights of gays & lesbians at the University of Saskatchewan. The University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU) has presented the award since 2001, after GLUS folded following the establishment of the USSU-run Pride Centre.
''Stubblejumper'', a film about Doug Wilson, was screened in venues across Saskatchewan in March 2009. It was directed by Saskatchewan filmmaker David Geiss.
In honour of his role as a significant builder of
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...