George Hislop (June 3, 1927 – October 8, 2005) was one of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's most influential

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

activists. He was one of the earliest openly gay candidates for political office in Canada, and was a key figure in the early development of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

's gay community.

Early career

Hislop studied speech and drama at the Banff School of Fine Arts, graduating in 1949. He subsequently worked as an actor, and ran an

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

company with his partner, Ron Shearer. Hislop met Shearer in 1958 and the couple remained together until Shearer's death in 1986.

Activism

In 1971, Hislop co-founded the

Community Homophile Association of Toronto The Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT) was founded on January 3, 1971. The organization grew out of the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA). CHAT's work centered around providing support services, education, and organi ...

, one of Canada's first organizations for gays and lesbians. On August 28, 1971, he was also an organizer of We Demand, the first Canadian gay rights demonstration on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

. He later played a significant role as a contact between one of the killers and the police in the Emanuel Jaques murder case in 1977.

Elections

In 1980, Hislop ran for

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

. He won the support of then-

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

John Sewell John Sewell (born December 8, 1940) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the 58th mayor of Toronto from 1978 to 1980. Background Born and raised in the Beach neighbourhood, in Toronto, Sewell attended Malvern Collegiate Institut ...

, a move that contributed to Sewell's defeat. The

Toronto Police Association The Toronto Police Association (TPA), founded in 1944, is a labour organization representing the approximately 5,500 uniformed and 2,500 civilian members of the Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While police officers in Ontari ...

openly campaigned against both Sewell and Hislop in the election. The following year, Hislop ran in the 1981 provincial election as an independent candidate in St. George to protest against the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids. Hislop was himself charged as a result of these raids, as part-owner of the Barracks bathhouse. He placed fourth with 2,677 votes (9.3% of the total), a strong finish for an independent candidate. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Hislop remained active as a business owner and activist.

Later life

In 2003, Hislop was nominated for the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official Award, honour in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the A ...

George Smitherman George Smitherman (born February 12, 1964) is a former Canadian politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayor ...

. Also that year, Hislop was one of several gay activists who launched a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit against the federal government. The government had extended Canada Pension Plan benefits to the surviving same-sex partners of deceased pensioners as of 1998, but the change was not retroactive to earlier deaths. Shearer had died in 1986, making Hislop ineligible for survivor benefits. The suit aimed to have retroactive benefits extended back to the 1985 inclusion of gay and lesbian equality rights in the

Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

. On November 26, 2004, the lawsuit ended in victory for Hislop and his coplaintiffs, although the federal government subsequently filed a controversial appeal of the decision. The federal government lost this appeal on March 1, 2007, when the Supreme Court ruled in Hislop's favour. Also in 2004, Hislop was the grand marshal of Toronto's Pride parade. In 2005, Hislop was the first-ever recipient of the

International Lesbian and Gay Law Association The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex Law Association (ILGLaw, formerly the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association) is an international association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex lawyers. The ...

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Award The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex Law Association (ILGLaw, formerly the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association) is an international association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex lawyers. The ...

in honour of his contributions to the advancement of LGBT equality in Canada, and was cited by federal New Democratic Party leader

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

as an important influence on Layton's support of LGBT issues. In August of that year, Hislop received his first pension cheque under the 2004 court decision. The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' reported that Hislop, who had

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and esophageal

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, died on October 8 in Toronto Grace Hospital. In an obituary notice, '' Eye Weekly'' referred to Hislop as "the unofficial mayor of the Toronto gay community". In October 2005, just one week after his death, Hislop was posthumously awarded the inaugural Jonathan R. Steinert and Fernando G. Ferreiro Award, Canada's largest award for contributions to LGBT communities. The $12,500 award, established by the Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal Foundation, would be given to Hislop's estate. A park in the city's

Church and Wellesley Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

neighbourhood is also named in Hislop's honour. In honour of his role as a significant builder of LGBT culture and history in Canada, a portrait of Hislop by artist Norman Hatton is held by The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives' National Portrait Collection."George Hislop 1927 - 2005"
. The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives, 1999.

References

External links

George Hislop profile in CLGA portrait collection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hislop, George 1927 births 2005 deaths Neurological disease deaths in Ontario Deaths from diabetes Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from Parkinson's disease LGBT rights activists from Canada Canadian LGBT people in municipal politics Gay politicians Businesspeople from Toronto University of Toronto alumni Deaths from cancer in Ontario LGBT businesspeople from Canada Politicians from Toronto 20th-century LGBT people