This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

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 ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

(

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 ...

) community in

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 ...

. For a broad overview of LGBT history in Canada see

LGBT history in Canada This article gives a broad overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history in Canada. LGBT activity was considered a crime from the Former colonies and territories in Canada, colonial period in Canada until 1969, when Bill C-150 wa ...

1600s

* 1648: A gay military drummer stationed at the French garrison in Ville-Marie,

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

is sentenced to death for sodomy by the local

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

priests."Looking back at Quebec queer life since the 17th century"
. ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', December 15, 2009. After an intervention by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, the drummer's life is spared on the condition that he accept the position of New France's first permanent executioner. As only the drummer was placed on trial, the widespread consensus of many historians is that his sexual partner may have been a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

man who was not subject to French religious law."Montreal"
.

glbtq.com glbtq.com (also known as the glbtq Encyclopedia Project) was an online encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer ( GLBTQ) culture. Launched in 2003, it was edited by Claude J. Summers, emeritus professor at the University of ...

, 2004. In his 2006 book ''Répression des homosexuels au Québec et en France'', historian Patrice Corriveau identifies the drummer as "René Huguet dit Tambour", although other historians have challenged this identification as no known historical records place a person of that name in New France any earlier than 1680. *1691: Military officer Nicolas Daussy de Saint-Michel and two commoners, Jean Forgeron dit La Rose and Jean Filliau dit Dubois, are arrested on charges of sodomy. Saint-Michel, highly knowledgeable about the law, refuses to cooperate with the investigation, successfully arguing that under France's ''

Grande ordonnance criminelle The Criminal Ordinance of 1670 (french: Ordonnance criminelle de 1670, a.k.a. ''Ordonnance criminelle de Colbert'') was a Great Ordinance dealing with criminal procedure which was enacted in France under the reign of King Louis XIV. Made in Sa ...

'' of 1670 a charge of sodomy could only be investigated by the

Sovereign Council of New France The Sovereign Council (french: Conseil souverain) was a governing body in New France. It served as both Supreme Court for the colony of New France, as well as a policy-making body, though this latter role diminished over time. The council, though ...

rather than the local

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

; the case is transferred to Quebec City, where the council ultimately finds all three guilty. Dubois and La Rose are sentenced to additional time in the military, while Saint-Michel is fined 200 ''

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

'' and exiled back to France. *

1800s

* 1810: Alexander Wood, a merchant and magistrate in York (which will become Toronto in 1834), is embroiled in a sex scandal when he investigates a

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

case by personally inspecting the penises of the suspected assailants for a scratch left by the woman who filed the rape charge. * 1832: Pvt. Flowers, an infantryman, is sentenced to death for having sex with another man.Michael Crabb
"Fort York’s ‘Private Flowers’: new installation illuminates a his-story that (used to) dare not speak its name"
''

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 part ...

'', July 24, 2023. His case remains virtually unknown until the premiere of Haui's short dance film ''Private Flowers'' in 2023. * 1838:

George Herchmer Markland George Herchmer Markland ( 1790 – May 17, 1862) was a political figure in Upper Canada.MARKL ...

, a member of the

Legislative Council of Upper Canada The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist o ...

, is forced to resign his seat after facing allegations of making sexual advances towards other men. * 1842: Patrick Kelly and Samuel Moore, the first two men in Canada historically recorded as having been criminally convicted of

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

for what the court records clearly describe as consensual sexual activity, arrive at

Kingston Penitentiary Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario. History Constructed from 1833 to 1834, and opened on June 1, 1 ...

."Life in the Provincial Penitentiary at Kingston 1841-1867"
''The Drummer's Revenge'', August 26, 2007. Both men were

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, although their sentences are commuted on August 22; Moore is released from prison in 1849 and Kelly is released in 1853. * 1869: Buggery is no longer punishable by death in Canada, replaced instead by a maximum punishment of life in prison.

1900–1950s

1918

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

writers

Elsa Gidlow Elsa Gidlow (29 December 1898 – 8 June 1986) was a British-born, Canadian-American poet, freelance journalist, philosopher and humanitarian. She is best known for writing ''On a Grey Thread'' (1923), the first volume of openly Lesbian litera ...

and

Roswell George Mills Roswell George Mills (1896 - 1966) was a Canadian journalist, poet and magazine publisher. A friend and colleague of poet Elsa Gidlow, he is the first known gay man in Canadian history whose life and sexual orientation is attested through biograph ...

launch ''

Les Mouches fantastiques ''Les Mouches fantastiques'' ( ''The Fantastic Flies'') was a Canadian underground magazine published between 1918 and 1920. Based in Montreal, Quebec, it is the first known LGBT-themed publication in Canadian and North American history. The maga ...

'', a

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the pro ...

ed underground magazine which is the first known LGBT publication in Canadian and North American history."Canada's first gay rag". ''

'', February 19, 2015. At least five issues are published before Mills and Gidlow move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the early 1920s.

1943

* In the Montreal literary magazine ''

First Statement ''First Statement'' was a Canadian literary magazine published in Montreal, Quebec from 1942 to 1945. During its short life the magazine, along with its rival publication ''Preview'' with which it often shared contributors, provided one of the few ...

'', John Sutherland publishes a review of the poetry of Patrick Anderson, intuiting

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

themes and accusing Anderson of "some sexual experience of a kind not normal". John Barton and

Billeh Nickerson Billeh Nickerson (born February 14, 1972) is a Canadian writer, editor, performer, producer and arts advocate. Personal life Nickerson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, grew up in Langley, British Columbia, lived in Toronto, Ontario, and currently ...

, eds. ''Seminal: The Anthology of Canada's Gay Male Poets''.

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as und ...

, 2007. . Although Anderson would in fact come out as gay later in life, he was married to a woman at the time; he threatened to sue, and ''First Statement'' printed a retraction in its following issue.

1949

* Jim Egan, a Toronto native who would later become a co-plaintiff in the landmark legal case ''

Egan v. Canada ''Egan v Canada'', 9952 SCR 513 was one of a trilogy of equality rights cases published by a very divided Supreme Court of Canada in the spring of 1995. It stands today as a landmark Supreme Court case which established that sexual orientation cons ...

'', begins writing letters to newspapers and magazines protesting depictions of homosexuality and calling for reform of laws regarding homosexual Canadians.Warner, Tom. ''Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. . He writes his letters until 1964, when he and his partner move to British Columbia.

1960s

The RCMP, throughout the late 1950s and the entirety of the 1960s, kept tabs on homosexuals and the patrons of gay bars in Ottawa and other cities. The force also worked with the FBI's own surveillance of homosexuals and alerted the FBI when a suspected homosexual had crossed the border to the United States.

1962

* Jackie Shane, a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer from Toronto, has a chart hit with "Any Other Way"."A brief history of queer music in Toronto"
''BlogTO'', November 29, 2014. The song's lyrics include an explicit and deliberate play on the dual meaning of the word "gay". Shane, who performed in female clothing despite being male-identified at the time, would later come out as

, although this was not confirmed on the record by a media outlet until 2017.

1963

* The RCMP Directorate of Security and Intelligence's A-3 Unit (a unit dedicated to rooting out and removing all homosexuals from government and law enforcement, itself a subsection of the A Unit dedicated to finding out character flaws in government employees in the aftermath of the

Second Red Scare McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

) produced a map of Ottawa replete with red dots marking all alleged residences and frequent visitations of homosexuals. However, the map was soon filled with red ink and was disposed, and after two larger maps of the city being used to a similar purpose and outcome, the mapping soon ended.

1964

* Canada sees its first gay-positive organization, ASK, and first gay magazines: ''ASK Newsletter'' (in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

), and ''

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 ...

'' (by Gay Publishing Company 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 ancho ...

). ''Gay'' was the first periodical to use the term 'Gay' in the title and expanded quickly, including outstripping the distribution of American publications under the name ''Gay International''. These were quickly followed by ''

Two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

'' (by Gayboy (later Kamp) Publishing Company of Toronto). * Journalist Sidney Katz publishes "The Homosexual Next Door", one of the first articles in a mainstream Canadian publication ever to portray homosexuality in a relatively positive light, in ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

''.

1965

* ''

Winter Kept Us Warm ''Winter Kept Us Warm'' is a Canadian romantic drama film, released in 1965. The title comes from the fifth line of T.S. Eliot's ''The Waste Land''. An independent film written, directed, and funded by David Secter, it occupies a unique place in ...

'', a gay-themed independent film by

David Secter David Secter is a Canadian film director. He is best known for the 1965 film '' Winter Kept Us Warm'', the first English Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival.Geoff Pevere"David Secter, the Varsity visionary: How a low-budget st ...

, becomes the first English Canadian film to be given a screening at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. * Poet Edward A. Lacey publishes ''The Forms of Life'', credited as the first volume of openly gay-identified poetry in Canadian literature.Fraser Sutherland
"Edward Lacey"
''

Canadian Poetry Canadian poetry is poetry of or typical of Canada. The term encompasses poetry written in Canada or by Canadian people in the official languages of English and French, and an increasingly prominent body of work in both other European and Indigenou ...

'' (Vol. 57), Fall/Winter 2005. *

George Klippert George Everett Klippert (September 6, 1926 – August 7, 1996) was the last person in Canada to be arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for gross indecency before the decriminalization of homosexual acts in 1969; the reform wa ...

, the last person in Canada ever to be imprisoned for homosexuality before its legalization in 1969, is arrested and charged with four counts of "

gross indecency Gross indecency is a crime in some parts of the English-speaking world, originally used to criminalize sexual activity between men that fell short of sodomy, which required penetration. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the Br ...

" after admitting to a police investigator that he had consensual sex with men.

1967

* Writer

Scott Symons Hugh Brennan Scott Symons (July 13, 1933 – February 23, 2009), known professionally as Scott Symons, was a Canadian writer.John Herbert's play ''

Fortune and Men's Eyes ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is a 1967 play and 1971 film written by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of homosexuality and sexual slavery. Plot of the play The plot follows Smitty, a 17-year-old, after he ...

'', an important landmark in the history of both LGBT literature and general Canadian theatre, premieres at the Actors Playhouse in

."John Herbert Dies at 75; Wrote of Prison Life"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 27, 2001. * December 21: Justice Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

introduces the

Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

, an

omnibus bill An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. ''Omnibus'' is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a ...

reforming the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

, which liberalizes Canadian law around social issues such as

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

. Trudeau's characterization was captured in the statement that there was "

no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

1969

* May 14: Canada decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults with the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act first introduced in December 1968. It receives

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on June 27. * October 24: The first meeting of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Homophile Association is held.

1970s

1970

*Poet Ian Young launches Catalyst Press. *Several of Canada's most noted early

gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...

groups — including the Community Homophile Association of Toronto, the Front de libération homosexuel in

, the Gay Alliance Toward Equality and the Vancouver Gay Liberation Front (GLF), in

and Gays of Ottawa — are launched. * April:

Dianna Boileau Dianna Boileau ( – 2014) was a Canadian transgender woman, and among the first Canadians to undergo gender-affirming surgery. Boileau began living as a woman in her late teens. She first came to public attention after her involvement in a fatal ...

undergoes

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

, and is reported to be the first

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

woman in Canada. Later accounts have cast doubt on this claim, though she was at least the first trans woman to have her story told publicly and the first to have transition-related surgery covered by the

Ontario Health Insurance Plan The Ontario Health Insurance Plan ( French: ''Assurance-Santé de l'Ontario''), commonly known in both official languages by the acronym OHIP (pronounced ), is the government- run health insurance plan for the Canadian province of Ontario. OHI ...

. *April 29:

Claude Charron Claude Charron (born October 22, 1946 in L'Île-Bizard, Quebec) is a former CEGEP teacher, provincial politician, writer and broadcaster. He became Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the youngest Member of the National Assembly of Quebec. ...

and

Guy Joron Guy Joron (June 2, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on June 2, 1940 in Montreal. He had a B.A. in political science from Université de Montréal. Member of the legislature Joron successfull ...

, two of Canada's earliest known LGBT officeholders, are elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

in the

1970 Quebec general election The 1970 Quebec general election was held on April 29, 1970, to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec. The former Legislative Assembly had been renamed the "National Assembly" in 1968. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by Robert Bourassa, d ...

.Alexandre Duval, ''Les députés homosexuels de l’Assemblée nationale de 1977 à 2002: un facteur dans l’atteinte de l’égalité juridique des gais et des lesbiennes du Québec?''. Fondation Jean-Charles-Bonenfant, June 2014. Neither man was out to the general public during his time in politics, although both were out among their caucus colleagues in the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

. *November 11:

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life T ...

is sworn in as

Premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The ...

. Although it was already something of an "open secret" that Hatfield was gay, he never officially

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as such, and only after his death in 1991 did biographers and journalists start discussing his sexuality on the record."Gay politicians come out of the closet and into the cabinet". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 13, 2009.

1971

* August 28:

We Demand Rally The We Demand Rally was the first large scale gay rights demonstration in Canada. The rally occurred on August 28, 1971 in Ottawa, and was organized by the gay rights activist groups Toronto Gay Action (TGA) and Community Homophile Association of ...

, Canada's first gay public protest, occurs in Ottawa on Parliament Hill. * November 1: ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'' begins publishing."Historicist: I Sing The Body Politic"
''

Torontoist ''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016. In September 2022 ...

'', February 14, 2015.

1972

* A group led by activist

Gens Hellquist Gens Douglas Hellquist (October 12, 1946 – September 28, 2013) was a Canadian activist and publisher, noted for his prominent role in founding and developing the organized LGBT community in the province of Saskatchewan. Background Born in North ...

incorporates the Zodiac Friendship Society, the first major LGB group in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

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 ...

."Saskatoon Gay Action: Progress in a Prairie city". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', Vol. 10 (1983). Regina,

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, and

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

also see the formation of their first LGB organizations, local chapters of the national

Gay Alliance Toward Equality The Gay Alliance Toward Equality, or GATE, was one of the first Canadian gay liberation groups.Ed Jackson and Stan Persky, ''Flaunting It! 1964-1982: A Decade of Gay Journalism from The Body Politic''. Pink Triangle Press, 1982. Formed in sprin ...

. * February: Peter Maloney, an unsuccessful candidate in the 1971 Ontario provincial election and later a prominent businessman in Toronto'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 * C ...

gay village, officially comes out as gay at a

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

policy conference."Maloney tells Liberals of his homosexuality". ''

'', February 14, 1972. Later in the year, he becomes Canada's first known openly gay political candidate, when he runs for a seat on 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 ...

. * June 29: A demonstration is held at Queen's Park to protest the omission of sexual orientation from a package of proposed reforms to the

Ontario Human Rights Code The Human Rights Code is a statute in the Canadian province of Ontario that guarantees equality before the law and prohibits discrimination in specific social areas such as housing or employment. The code's goal specifically prohibits discrimina ...

. * September 11:

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversification (finance), diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers J ...

's cable community channel in

airs the first episode of ''

Coming Out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

'', Canada's first television series about LGBT issues."Gay Television Series". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', Vol. 6 (Autumn 1972). p. 22. * December: Cameron Frye, one of Canada's earliest politicians to come out as gay (see December 1980), is elected to the municipal council of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

."Hate mail clouds campaign in town that promotes love". ''

'', November 2, 1980.

1973

* A collective in

establishes

Librairie L'Androgyne Librairie L'Androgyne was an LGBT-oriented bookstore in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, active from 1973 to 2002."L'Androgyne closing: Move to Gay Village wasn't enough to save bookstore specializing in materials now sold online or at Indigo". ''Montreal ...

, the city's first LGBT-oriented bookstore and of only four ever established in Canada."L'Androgyne closing: Move to Gay Village wasn't enough to save bookstore specializing in materials now sold online or at Indigo". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', July 20, 2002. * May 10: The first Canadian play about and starring a drag queen, ''

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek , ...

'' by

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a French-Canadian novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood wit ...

, is performed at

Théâtre de Quat'Sous The Théâtre de Quat'Sous is a Canadian theatre on Pine Avenue in the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in the city of Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1955, it is the third-oldest theatre company in Montreal after Théâtre du Rideau Vert and Th� ...

in Montreal. * August: The Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives are launched. * August 17–26:

Pride Week 1973 Pride Week 1973 was a national LGBT rights event in Canada, which was held in August 1973.Peters, Rob"Pride and Prejudiced: A history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender milestones, in Vancouver and around the world" ''The Tyee'', August 4, 20 ...

, a national LGBT rights event, takes place simultaneously in several Canadian cities.Peters, Rob
"Pride and Prejudiced: A history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender milestones, in Vancouver and around the world"
''

The Tyee The Tyee is an independent online daily news source primarily based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in November 2003 as an alternative to "corporate media". Articles in The Tyee focus on politics, culture, and life. The Tyee was f ...

'', August 4, 2006. Accessed on September 25, 2008. * October 6: The first national conference of LGBT organizations is hosted in

by the ''Centre humanitaire d'aide et de libération''. * October 10: Following a lobbying campaign by the

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 cur ...

adopts a policy forbidding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in municipal hiring, making the city the first jurisdiction in Canada to do so.

1974

* Both

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

(Community Homophile Association of Newfoundland) and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

(Gay Friends of Fredericton) see the formation of the first gay groups in their respective provinces. * January 5: The

Brunswick Four The Brunswick Four were four lesbians involved in a historic incident in Toronto, Ontario in 1974. The four were evicted from the Brunswick House, a working-class beer hall on Bloor Street, and subsequently arrested, and three were later tried in On ...

are arrested at the Brunswick Tavern in

. They are defended ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' by former federal cabinet minister

Judy LaMarsh Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, (December 20, 1924 – October 27, 1980) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, author and broadcaster. In 1963, she was only the second woman to ever serve as a federal Cabinet Minister. Under Prime Minister Lester Pearson' ...

. * January 15: Rev.

Bob Wolfe Robert Wolfe was an American clergyman with the Metropolitan Community Church, most noted as the founding pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Previously pastor of the church's congregation in Sacrame ...

of the

Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto The Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto is a congregation of the worldwide Metropolitan Community Church movement located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a welcoming congregation openly affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual and ...

successfully talks a distraught young gay man out of committing suicide by jumping off the roof of

Toronto City Hall The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in ...

's east tower. He is presented an award by

for his bravery on February 6,"Civic Recognition Forces Newspaper to Print Ad". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', Vol. 12 (March/April 1974), p. 4. and uses his acceptance speech to criticize the ''

'' for refusing to print an advertisement for the church; the ''Star'' prints the ad the following day. * February 11: In Canada's first known

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

ceremony, Winnipeg residents Richard North and Chris Vogel are married by a Unitarian minister."Chris Vogel, Richard North fight for Manitoba to recognize 41-year same-sex marriage"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, February 18, 2015. They will eventually become the lead plaintiffs in ''Vogel v. Canada'', the case which leads to the legalization of

Same-sex marriage in Manitoba Same-sex marriage in Manitoba has been legal since September 16, 2004. In the case of ''Vogel v. Canada'', the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba ordered the province to begin issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples. This decision followed ...

in 2004 — however, as of 2015 Vogel and North are still fighting to have the province formally register their marriage as having taken place in 1974 instead of 2004. Their original 1974 marriage certificate is now on display at the

Canadian Museum of Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporation and national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks. The purpose of the museum is to "explore the subject of human rights with a special but not ex ...

. * February 14:

sociologist

John Alan Lee John Alan Lee (August 24, 1933 – December 5, 2013) was a Canadian writer, academic and political activist, best known as an early advocate for LGBT rights in Canada,TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

's '' The Judy LaMarsh Show'', becoming one of Canada's first prominent professionals ever to do so."Proud Life: Activist and rebel John Alan Lee"
''

'', December 18, 2013. * November: The

chapter of the

files a complaint with the

British Columbia Human Rights Commission The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is a quasi-judicial human rights body in British Columbia, Canada. It was established under Human Rights Code (British Columbia), British Columbia's ''Human Rights Code''. It is responsible for "accepting ...

against the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', after the newspaper refuses to print an advertisement for '' Gay Tide''. This will eventually become the first gay rights case to reach the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

1975

* The collective responsible for publication of ''The Body Politic'' formally incorporates as

Pink Triangle Press Pink Triangle Press is a Canadian organization which specializes in LGBT media including publishing, online interactive media, and television. PTP's main asset is the LGBT news website ''Daily Xtra'', a continuation of the company's former print t ...

. *

Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...

, one of Canada's first-ever out gay male politicians, is elected mayor of Bécancour,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Contemporary biographical sources indicate that he came out as gay sometime during his term as mayor, but are not clear about what year this occurred in. * March 4: The "Ottawa Sex Scandal" begins when eighteen gay men, the owner and several customers of a modelling agency and dating service, are arrested and charged with sexual offences. Their names are released by police and published by the press; at least one of the men, Warren Zufelt, commits suicide on March 18 because of his outing. * April: The Aquarius bathhouse in

firebombed Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary ...

."Montreal’s historic Le 456 Sauna closes after 33 years"
''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'', November 23, 2011. The perpetrators are never found or arrested. Three customers die in the resulting fire; two of them are buried in anonymous graves because their bodies are never identified or claimed by their families. * June: Gay Information and Resources Calgary (GIRC) was founded * July 7: A Gay Caucus is formed at the national convention of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

, marking the first LGBT-oriented committee within a mainstream political party in Canada. * September 22:

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 ...

graduate student Douglas Wilson is barred from working as a teaching assistant because of his participation in the gay liberation movement.

1976

* Police crackdowns against gay bars in

's Stanley Street gay village, widely perceived as mayor

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...

's attempts to "clean up" the city in advance of the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, lead to riots. * April 5:

Ottawa City Council The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents war ...

passes a motion prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in municipal hiring, becoming only the second jurisdiction in Canada to do so. * May 6: Ontario MPPs

Margaret Campbell Margaret Campbell (April 24, 1883 – June 27, 1939) was an American character actress in silent films. In her later years she was the secretary of the Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles. Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell ...

and

Ted Bounsall Edwin J. "Ted" Bounsall (born November 6, 1935) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a NDP member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1981. He represented the ridings of Windsor West from 1971 to 1975 and Windsor—S ...

introduce private members' bills to include sexual orientation in the

, although both motions fail. * July: After two gay men are arrested for kissing in public at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets in

, several gay activists stage a kiss-in protest at the same corner. * October: The

Lesbian Organization of Toronto The Lesbian Organization of Toronto (L.O.O.T. or LOOT) was a lesbian organization founded in 1976 and disbanded in 1980. The group was Toronto's first openly lesbian feminist group, and its members elected to open Canada's first Lesbian Centre. ...

is formed. * December: The openly gay Ian Maclennan is a candidate for election to the

Ottawa Board of Education The Ottawa Board of Education (OBE) was the public school board for Ottawa from 1970 to 1998. The board was created as part of a province-wide reorganization of the public education system. Previously, elementary schools had been supervised by the ...

in the 1976 municipal election.

1977

*The Canadian film ''

Outrageous! ''Outrageous!'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. The film stars Craig Russell as female impersonator Robin Turner, and Hollis McLaren as Turner's schizophrenic roommate Liza Conners. The plot begins i ...

'', starring drag queen Craig Russell, becomes one of the first gay-themed films ever to break out into mainstream theatrical release. *March 14:

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

becomes the third city in Canada to pass a motion banning discrimination against city employees on the basis of sexual orientation. *May 9: Barbara Thornborrow becomes the first member of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

to challenge a discharge from the military on the grounds of her sexuality. *June 2: ''Out of the Closets'', an LGB-oriented television program, airs on the Skyline Cable and Ottawa Cable community channels in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. The series is produced by Gays of Ottawa, who subsequently also launch a French language edition on the cable company in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

."Rights of access — Cable, FM and the dailies: one foot in the door, two doors in the face". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', November 1, 1977. * June 9: Two openly gay candidates, Therese Faubert of the

League for Socialist Action The League for Socialist Action was a Trotskyist organization in Canada. It was known by several names throughout its history, including the International Left Opposition (Trotskyist) of Canada, the Workers Party of Canada, the Socialist Policy Gr ...

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

and Frank Lowery of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...

in Scarborough North, are on the ballot in the 1977 Ontario provincial election. * August:

residents learn of the sexual assault and murder of the boy

Emanuel Jaques Emanuel may refer to: * Emanuel (name), a given name and surname (see there for a list of people with this name) * Emanuel School, Australia, Sydney, Australia * Emanuel School, Battersea, London, England * Emanuel (band), a five-piece rock ban ...

by three men, resulting in media coverage which unfairly paints the entire gay community as pedophiles. * September 20: The television program ''

Gay News and Views ''Gay News and Views'' is a Canadian television series, which aired on cable community channels in the Toronto area in 1977 and 1978. Produced by the Gay TV Collective at the facilities of Maclean-Hunter, the series was a news and information pr ...

'' premieres."TV series on the air". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', October 1, 1977. Produced by

's cable community channel, the series airs on all three of Metro Toronto's major cable providers: Maclean-Hunter,

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

and Metro Cable. After the first episode Rogers backs out of airing the show on the grounds of alleged complaints about its content, although due to pressure from the LGBT community the company reinstates the program three weeks later. * October: Two gay establishments in

, Mystique and Truxx, are raided. A protest organized the next day attracts 2,000 participants. By December, the province of

becomes the second jurisdiction in the world, behind only

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, to pass a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. * November: ''The Body Politic'' publishes

Gerald Hannon Gerald Hannon (July 10, 1944 – May 9, 2022) was a Canadian journalist whose work appeared in major Canadian magazines and newspapers.Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon, eds., ''Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History''. Routledge, 2 ...

's article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men", resulting in a five-year legal battle over whether the magazine was guilty of publishing "immoral, indecent or scurrilous material".

1978

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

, Canada's oldest surviving theatre company dedicated to LGBT theatre, is launched by Matt Walsh, Fabian Boutilier,

Jerry Ciccoritti Jerry Ciccoritti (born August 5, 1956) is a Canadian film, television and theatre director. His ability to work in a number of genres and for many mediums has made him one of the most successful directors in the country. Biography Born in Tor ...

, and

Sky Gilbert Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto, before be ...

. * May 18:

Brent Hawkes Brent Hawkes, (born June 2, 1950) is a Canadians, Canadian clergyman and gay rights activist. Early life and education Hawkes was born in Bath, New Brunswick, Bath, New Brunswick to a Baptist family."Gay rights leader cherishes his New Brunswick ...

is selected as the new pastor of the

, succeeding

. * May 26: Maclean-Hunter's community channel cancels ''Gay News and Views''. * June: Gay activist Dean Haynes announces his candidacy for

in the 1978 municipal election. He later withdraws his registration due to lack of support. * August 9:

CKMS-FM CKMS-FM (branded as ''Radio Waterloo'') is a Canadian community radio station, broadcasting at 102.7 FM in Waterloo, Ontario. History The station launched in 1977 at 94.5 FM as the campus radio station of the University of Waterloo The Uni ...

, a radio station in the

Kitchener-Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumf ...

region of Ontario, launches ''Gay News and Views'', Canada's first known LGBT-oriented radio program. * November 13: Jim Monk, an openly gay candidate for election to the

Windsor Board of Education The Windsor Board of Education (WBOE) was a school district in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The district, prior to its closure, had 32 elementary schools, eight secondary schools, and 7 agency schools.British Columbia provincial election, Robert Douglas Cook garners 126 votes in

West Vancouver-Howe Sound West Vancouver-Howe Sound was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1966 to 1986. The riding's predecessor was North Vancouver, which first appeared on the hustings from 1903. For other historical and ...

as a candidate of the

. *August 20: Several gay activists stage a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

protest in the offices of

Roy McMurtry Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

, the

Attorney General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

, to demand a meeting about police and legal harassment of the gay community. *Summer: Montreal and Vancouver become the first Canadian cities to host an official Pride march and festival.

1980s

1980

* Gay activist

George Hislop George Hislop (June 3, 1927 – October 8, 2005) was one of Canada's most influential gay 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's gay ...

runs for a seat on

in the 1980 municipal election. He finishes third in the race for Ward 6 on November 10. *October 31: For the first time, a police presence protects gay spectators and

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

s from anti-gay harassment at the annual

Hallowe'en Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

show at Toronto's St. Charles Tavern. *December: At the last

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * ''The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' T ...

meeting of

's municipal council following the 1980 municipal elections, outgoing reeve and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Cameron Frye acknowledges that he is gay."Reeve gauche: A sad come-out". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', February 1981. The campaign had been marked by rumours about Frye's sexuality, including the distribution of hate literature claiming that Frye would promote a "gay lifestyle" as mayor and would lead the town into "moral decay","Victim of hate mail loses in bid for mayor". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', December 1980. although Frye refused to address the rumours about his sexuality during the campaign.

1981

*February 5: Four gay bathhouses in

are raided by the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

Operation Soap Operation Soap was a raid by the Metropolitan Toronto Police against four gay bathhouses in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which took place on February 5, 1981. Just less than three hundred men were arrested, the largest mass arrest in Canada since the ...

. The event is now considered one of the crucial turning points in Canadian LGBT history, as an unprecedented community mobilization — now regarded as the Canadian equivalent of the 1969

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...

— took place to protest police conduct. One of the protest marches during this mobilization is now generally recognized as the first

Toronto Pride Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

event. *February 11: As part of the continuing series of protests against Operation Soap, gay activist

announces that he will run as an independent protest candidate in the riding of

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

in the 1981 provincial election. *February 22: ''The Running Man'', starring

Chuck Shamata Charles "Chuck" Shamata (born 1942) is a Canadian actor. Early life and education Born and raised in Toronto, he worked at Honest Ed's,"Shamata's riding out acting's ups and downs". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 12, 1974. and studied acting ...

as a man struggling to come to terms with being gay, airs on the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

anthology series '' For the Record'' as the first known LGBT-themed television film produced in Canada. *May 30: Pisces Health Spa in Edmonton, Alberta, is raided by the City of Edmonton Police after a lengthy undercover investigation by the then called Morality Control Unit. Many of the 56 men police arrested eventually pleaded guilty, despite the fact that there was no evidence to suggest prostitutes were working in the spa, nor that minors were enticed to enter. Undercover police officers had acted as patrons of the Pisces Health Spa. One of the arrested men was

Michael Phair Michael Albert Phair (born August 1950) is a Canadian politician, who served on Edmonton City Council from 1992 until 2007. He was the first openly gay elected politician in the province of Alberta, as well as one of the earliest openly gay elected ...

, later to become the city's first openly gay city councillor. * Jim Egan is elected to the

Comox-Strathcona Regional District The Regional District of Comox-Strathcona was a regional district of British Columbia, Canada from 1967 to 2008. On February 15, 2008, the regional district was abolished and replaced by two successor regional districts, Comox Valley and Strathco ...

board.

1982

*Demographic and economic changes begin to shift

gay village A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establish ...

from rue Stanley to rue Sainte-Catherine.

1983

*April 20: The Back Door Gym, one of the establishments raided in 1981, is raided again. This raid is protested on April 23. No further bathhouse raids take place in the 1980s. The warrant used in this raid was declared invalid by the courts on October 3, 1984. *July 23: A

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary ...

attack on

Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War ...

's abortion clinic in Toronto also results in significant damage to the

Toronto Women's Bookstore The Toronto Women's Bookstore was the largest nonprofit, feminist bookstore in Canada, before its closure in November 2012. It was run and staffed primarily by women of color, and sold fiction, poetry and non-fiction by women writers to promote ...

, one of Canada's most important venues for feminist and lesbian literature.

1984

*March:

, the publisher of ''The Body Politic'', launches the local LGBT newspaper ''

'' in Toronto. * Pink Triangle Services, the first GLBTTQ-specific charity, is incorporated in Ottawa.

1985

*June:

Kenneth Zeller Kenneth Zeller (June 5, 1945 – June 1985) was a teacher and librarian in Toronto, who was employed by Davisville Public School, Williamson Road Junior Public School and Western Technical-Commercial School. He was the victim of a homophobic hate ...

is murdered in

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

, a

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

which spurs the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

, Zeller's employer, to implement one of Canada's first programs to combat anti-gay discrimination and violence.Alanna Mitchell, "Welcome to Canada's gay high school: Toronto's Triangle program offers an educational refuge". ''

'', May 29, 2004. *In the 1985 provincial election in

, openly gay politician

is elected to the

to represent the electoral district of Nicolet.

1986

*Activist Jim Egan reaches retirement age."Elderly B.C. couple say they are ideal test case on gay spousal rights". ''

'', December 29, 1994. He applies to the

Canada Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...

for spousal benefits for his partner Jack Nesbit; when the benefits are denied, the court case ''

'' is initiated. *November 9:

Raymond Blain Raymond Blain was a Canadian politician who served on the Montreal City Council from 1986 to 1992."Montreal voters chose gay councillor in '86". ''Ottawa Citizen'', March 8, 1988. He has been credited by media as the first openly gay politicia ...

is elected to

Montreal City Council The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the ...

in the 1986 municipal election. He is often mistakenly credited as the first openly gay politician ever elected to office in Canada,"The Politics of Coming Out: Society may be showing more tolerance to gays in the public arena". ''

'', March 5, 1988. as a couple of earlier openly gay candidates (e.g. Maurice Richard in 1985) were not widely reported by national media at the time of their elections.

1987

*February: Pink Triangle Press ceases publication of ''The Body Politic''. * August 2:

holds its first-ever Pride, with a turn-out of 250 LGB community members, supporters, and allies. The inaugural Pride Winnipeg was one of the first Pride celebrations in Western Canada, following Vancouver in 1979 and Edmonton in 1980. Some the first participants of this event actually wore paper bags over their heads out of fear of rallying in public. The event has since grown to a vibrant, annual festival with an attendance of 35,000.

1988

*February 29:

Svend Robinson Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, who represented suburban Vancouver-area constituencies of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He is noted as the first mem ...

becomes Canada's first elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as gay. *''

CODCO ''CODCO'' is a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1988 to 1993.Greg Malone and

Tommy Sexton Thomas Sexton (July 3, 1957 – December 13, 1993) was a Canadian comedian. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland, he was the youngest member of the ''CODCO'' comedy troupe. Educated in ...

, debuts on

. Along with the later ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, in C ...

'', the show plays a prominent role in the representation of LGBT characters and issues on Canadian television; in addition to the gay characters "Jerome and Duncan", Sexton and Malone were especially renowned for drag-based impersonations of celebrity women such as Queen Elizabeth,

Barbara Frum Barbara Frum, OC (September 8, 1937 – March 26, 1992) was an American-born Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Personal life Barbara Frum was born Barbara Rosber ...

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

Tammy Faye Bakker Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...

and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. In one famous sketch, Malone as Frum moderated a debate between Andy Jones as a gay teacher who had been fired from his job for testing

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

and Sexton as Clarabelle Otterhead, the president of an anti-gay lobby group called Citizens Outraged by Weird Sex (or COWS). *''

'', a sketch comedy series whose cast includes the openly gay Scott Thompson, debuts on

. Sketches such as Thompson's character Buddy Cole and the ensemble sketch "The Steps" were among the most visible representations of gay culture on Canadian television during the show's run. * Actor and HIV/AIDS activist Jim St. James begins appearing in a nationally televised series of

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

s on HIV/AIDS awareness,"AIDS crusador Jim St. James". ''

'', March 28, 1990. and is the subject of ''Jim: A Life with AIDS'', a biography by

June Callwood June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was known as "Canada's Conscience". Callwood achieved acclaim and a loyal following for her articles and columns written for na ...

. *Gender mosaic group formed, in Ottawa, in May. A transgender group, one of the first in Canada (possibly the first).

1989

*March 19: Joe Rose, a young gay activist in

, is

stabbed A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs fro ...

to death by a gang of teenagers who targeted him for having pink hair. The incident later inspires educator Michael Whatling, who had been a classmate of Rose's at the time of his death, to publish '' A Vigil for Joe Rose'', an exploration of the struggles faced by LGBT students. *August 21: Alain Brosseau, a straight man in

, is attacked by a gang of teenagers who wrongly assumed he was gay, while walking home from his job at the

Château Laurier The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to comple ...

."Gay-targeted murder recalled 20 years later"

, August 21, 2009. The attackers chase him through

Major's Hill Park Major's Hill Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. The parliament buildings can be seen across the canal to the west, to the north of the park is the Nat ...

to the

Alexandra Bridge The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, also known as the Alexandra Bridge or Interprovincial Bridge, is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. In addition to carrying vehicl ...

, and then throw him off the bridge resulting in his death. This results in an LGBT community outcry and eventually leads to the formation of the

Ottawa Police Service The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is a municipal police force in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people alongside several other police f ...

's LGBT Liaison Committee two years later. *November: Glen Murray is elected as the first openly gay member of Winnipeg City Council. He was well known for his leadership in successful LGBTQ+ human rights campaigns & AIDS activism.

1990s

1990

*July:

Sex Garage Sex Garage was an after-hours venue located in Montreal's Old Montreal district that catered to LGBT patrons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The venue is most known for a 1990 police raid that has since been referred to as "Montreal's Stonewall ...

after-hours party is raided, politicizing an entire generation of queer activists *August 4 - August 11:

hosts the

1990 Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

. *August: The term

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

is officially established at the third annual Native American/First Nations Gay and Lesbian Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. *

Chris Lea Chris Lea is a designer, politician and political activist in Canada. He was the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 1990 to 1996. Lea is notable for being the first out of the closet, openly gay political party leader in Canadian history. B ...

wins the leadership of the

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It el ...

, becoming the first openly gay leader of a political party in Canada.

1991

*March 24 - Gay comedian

Michael Boncoeur Michael Boncoeur was the stage name of Michael Vadeboncoeur, a Canadian sketch comedian, most noted as one half of the comedy duo La Troupe Grotesque with Paul K. Willis in the 1970s and 1980s. Career Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, he ...

is found dead in his apartment, having been stabbed by two youth as part of a robbery."Ex-radio comic stabbed to death". ''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Re ...

'', March 26, 1991. *

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

mayor

Bob Morrow Robert Maxwell Morrow (August 9, 1946 – February 4, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as 52nd mayor of Hamilton from 1982 to 2000. He was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. Political career Born in Hamilton, Morrow fi ...

is criticized for refusing to issue an

LGBTQ Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sha ...

proclamation in the city."Hamilton's gays speak out against Morrow". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'', November 5, 1991. Morrow cites a lack of consensus among

Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor i ...

rather than any personal animus against LGBT people, although councillor

Dominic Agostino Dominic Agostino (October 14, 1959 – March 24, 2004) was a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Hamilton East for the Liberal Party in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 until his death in 2004. Background Born in Sic ...

tries to broker a compromise under which Morrow would write a welcome letter instead of a formal civic proclamation."Morrow takes stand on gay pride: Man accuses mayor of prejudice". ''

'', July 5, 1994. * Following the Alain Brosseau incident of 1989, the

forms Canada's first LGBT Police Liaison Committee, with members of both the city's LGBT community and the Ottawa Police force, sitting on it, as well as Canada's first police unit specifically dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of

s. *

Kyle Rae Kyle Rae (born January 23, 1954) is a Canadian consultant and former politician. Rae was a member of Toronto City Council from 1991 to 2010, representing Ward 6 in the old city from 1991 to 1997 and Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale following the ...

is elected as the first openly gay member of

1992

*The

Brick Brewing Company Waterloo Brewing LTD., formerly the Brick Brewing Company, is a brewery based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, with several divisions. Waterloo is reportedly the largest Canadian-owned brewer in the province, and it was also Ontario's first moder ...

of Waterloo introduces Pride Lager, Canada's first beer marketed specifically to LGBT consumers. *August 6: Ontario Court of Appeal rules in ''Haig v. Canada'', 1992 CanLII 2787 (ON CA) that sexual orientation is an analogous ground of discrimination under s. 15 of the Charter. *November 29: Yves Lalonde is murdered in Montreal's Angrignon Park by a gang of four neo-Nazi skinheads.

1993

* Pink Triangle Press launches ''

Capital Xtra! ''Xtra Ottawa'' (formerly ''Capital Xtra'') was a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was launched in 1993. Unlike its biweekly sister publications ''Xtra'' in Toronto and '' Xtra Vanc ...

'' in

and ''

Xtra! West ''Xtra Vancouver'' (), formerly ''Xtra! West'', was a gay bi-weekly newspaper, published by Pink Triangle Press in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Printed on newsprint in tabloid format from its establishment in 1993, Pink Triangle Press a ...

'' in

. * In reaction to the

raid of 1990,

Divers/Cité Divers/Cité was an LGBT multidisciplinary arts and music festival taking place each year in the heart of Montreal, since 1993. A week-long avant-garde event in the heart of downtown Montreal and in Montreal's Gay Village area held usually on the e ...

is launched as Montreal's annual pride festival. * Following the death of Michael Boncoeur in 1991, his longtime close friend

Lynn Johnston Lynn Johnston (born May 28, 1947) is a Canadian cartoonist and author, best known for her newspaper comic strip '' For Better or For Worse''. She was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award. Ea ...

introduces a gay character to her comic strip '' For Better or For Worse'' to help combat anti-gay stereotypes and discrimination.Pam Becker
"Drawing from life"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', December 17, 2004. * February 25: A

case, ''

Canada (AG) v Mossop ''Canada (AG) v Mossop'', 9931 SCR 554 was the first decision of the Supreme Court of Canada to consider equality rights for gays. The case is also significant as one of Justice L'Heureux-Dube's most famous dissents where she proposes an evolving m ...

'', rules against Brian Mossop's appeal after he is denied employment leave to attend the funeral of his partner

Ken Popert Ken Popert has been involved with Pink Triangle Press (PTP) since 1973 when he began contributing to ''The Body Politic''. In 1986 he was appointed interim publisher of PTP, and he served as the Executive Director until April 3, 2017 when he was suc ...

's father. Despite the ruling, the case is significant as the first Supreme Court case to explicitly take up a question of LGBT equality rights. * July 12: Unknown persons toss three

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

at the front door of the St. Marc Spa in Toronto. Bomb threats are also called in against Woody's, Bar 501 and the offices of ''

'' the following night.An index of articles pertaining to bathhouse raids in the LGBT newsmagazine ''Perceptions''
/ref> * October 16:

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's ''

The Inside Track ''The Inside Track'' was a Canadian radio series, which formerly aired on CBC Radio One. A documentary and interview series exploring social and cultural issues in the world of sports, the program was hosted by Mark Lee, Mary Hynes and Robin B ...

'', a documentary series about social and cultural issues in sport, airs "The Last Closet", a one-hour special on

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

in sports. The episode is noted for featuring voice-filtered interviews with two anonymous gay Canadian athletes who were not yet prepared to officially

; they would later be revealed as Mark Leduc and

Mark Tewksbury Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of ''How It's Made'', ...

. * March 1993: In the precedent-setting

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

case ''Waterman vs. National Life'', insurance company National Life is ordered to pay $23,390 in damages to Jan Waterman, a part-time employee who had an offer of full-time employment with the company rescinded after she came out as lesbian.

1994

* January 20:

Sherry McKibben Sherry McKibben (M.Phil, MSW, RSW) (1944–2014) was an Edmonton alderman (city councillor) who was elected in the 1994 by-election to replace Ward 4 alderman Judy Bethel, who was elected to the House of Commons and resigned her seat on council. ...

was elected to the Edmonton city council in Ward 4 in the 1994 Edmonton municipal by-election and became the first openly lesbian alderman in the city's history. Her election made Edmonton the first Canadian city to have two openly queer aldermen as she served alongside

. * June 9: Bill 167, the

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

government's proposed legislation extending spousal benefits to

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a Romance (love), romantic or Human sexuality, sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil ...

, is defeated 68–59 in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

1995

* March: The

finds that

mayor

's refusal to proclaim Pride Week in 1991 is discriminatory, ordering him to pay $5,000 in damages to the city's Gay and Lesbian Alliance and to issue the proclamation in 1995. Morrow issues a proclamation for 1995, but concurrently announces that he will cease issuing any further civic proclamations for any events at all. * July: Diane Haskett decides not to proclaim Gay Pride, and subsequently is sued by the Homophile Association of London Ontario (HALO). In 1997, she was found guilty of discrimination as a result of the lawsuit. * unknown date: The Nu West Steam Bath in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

is raided by its new landlords, who enter the premises and cause damage with the express intention of evicting the facility from their property. * May 25: In the ''

'' decision, the

rules that freedom from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a protected right under the

Canadian 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 ...

."Gay couple lose 8-year fight for pension benefits". ''

'', May 26, 1995. Despite this, the court rules against Jim Egan on the issue of spousal pension benefits that was the core of the case, finding that the restriction of spousal benefits was a justified infringement on the grounds that the core purpose of the benefits was to provide financial support to women who had spent their lives as

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying a ...

and mothers without earning their own independent income.

1996

* The

launches the

Triangle Program The Triangle Program is an alternative education program in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, designed for gay, lesbian, bisexuality, bisexual and transgender students who are at risk of dropping because of homophobia, homophobic and transphobia ...

, Canada's first

alternative high school Alternative High School (AHS) is a public senior high (secondary) school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; which teaches grades 10 through 12. AHS is currently located at the Clinton Ford Centre, which was home to the former Clinton Ford Elementary Sc ...

program for at-risk LGBT youth. * The

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

-produced game show '' Love Handles'', a Canadian version of ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...

'', faces some controversy for including same-sex couples among its contestants. * May: During debate on Bill C33, which would formally add sexual orientation to the

Canadian Human Rights Act The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vi ...

, two Reform Party MPs,

David Chatters David Cameron Chatters (April 15, 1946 – January 25, 2016) was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Athabasca until the 2004 election, after which he represented ...

and

Bob Ringma MGen Robert "Bob" Ringma (30 June 1928 – 31 March 2014) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1997. By career, he was a soldier for the Canadian Forces. Born in Richmond, British Columbia, Ringma served in the Canadia ...

, are suspended from the party caucus after making controversial comments."Gay Rights Bill Passes"
''

'', May 13, 1996. Ringma is quoted as saying that employers should have the right to move openly gay employees to "the back of the shop" if their presence offends the business's customers, while Chatters asserts that schools should have the right to fire openly gay teachers. A third Reform Party MP,

Jan Brown Janet (Jan) Corinne Brown (born June 23, 1947 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian former politician. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament under the Reform Party of Canada ticket in the Alberta riding of Calgary Southeast in th ...

, is also suspended at the same time for publicly criticizing Chatters and Ringma. All three are readmitted to the Reform caucus by September. *June 20: Bill C33 receives

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

. *November 27: At the

17th Genie Awards The 17th Genie Awards were held on November 27, 1996, to honour films released in late 1995 and 1996. They were the ''second'' Genie Award ceremony held in that year; the 16th Genie Awards were delayed from the fall of 1995 and took place in Janua ...

, ''

Lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

'' becomes the first LGBT-themed film ever to win the

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

for Best Motion Picture.Peter Knegt
"Before 'Moonlight': 20 years ago, Canada crowned its own first LGBTQ best picture"

CBC Arts CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, March 10, 2017.

1997

*Controversy emerges when the

School District 36 Surrey School District 36 Surrey operates schools in Surrey, White Rock, and Barnston Island, British Columbia. It is the largest school district in British Columbia with 71,838 students during the 2016/2017 school year. District 36 includes 101 ele ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

bans three books about same-sex parenting from being used in district schools. The books are Johnny Valentine's ''

One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads ''One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads'' is a children's book written by Johnny Valentine and Melody Sarecky.Johnny Valentine and Melody Sarecky ''One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads'' (1st edition: Alyson Books, 1994 1-55583-253-9) The int ...

'',

Lesléa Newman Lesléa Newman (born November 5, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American author, editor, and feminist. Four of her young adult novels have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making her ...

's ''Belinda's Bouquet'' and Rosamund Elwin and Michele Paulse's ''

Asha's Mums ''Asha's Mums'' is a children's book written in 1990 by Michele Paulse and Rosamund Elwin and illustrated by Dawn Lee focusing on the topic of same-sex parents.Esposito, Jennifer. “We’re Here, We’re Queer, But We’re Just Like Heterosexuals ...

''."Surrey book ban under fire from Victoria". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'', April 27, 1997. The matter eventually reaches the

, which rules in the 2002 case ''

Chamberlain v Surrey School District No 36 ''Chamberlain v Surrey School District No 36'',

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

4 S.C.R. 710, 2002 SCC 86, was a case in which the Supreme Court of Canada held that a local school board could not impose its religious values by refusing to permit the use of books that sought ...

'' that the ban is unconstitutional.

1998

* April 2: ''

Vriend v Alberta ''Vriend v Alberta'' 9981 S.C.R. 493 is an important Supreme Court of Canada case that determined that a legislative omission can be the subject of a Charter violation. The case involved a dismissal of a teacher because of his sexual orientation ...

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

1 S.C.R. 493 is an important Supreme Court of Canada case that determined that a legislative omission can be the subject of a Charter violation. The court ruled that to remedy the situation "sexual orientation" must be read into the impugned provision of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. * September: The first gay-straight alliance in Canada is founded at Pinetree Secondary School in

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

, British Columbia. * October 12: A naked "mystery man" suffering from

dissociative amnesia Psychogenic amnesia or dissociative amnesia is a memory disorder characterized by sudden retrograde episodic memory loss, said to occur for a period of time ranging from hours to years to decades. More recently, "dissociative amnesia" has been d ...

is found behind a dumpster in

; the only things he reports recalling are that his name is James Brighton and that he is gay. He is eventually confirmed as Matthew Honeycutt, a young heterosexual man from La Follette,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

who was attempting to run away from his fundamentalist Christian family and escape petty crime charges. His story is later dramatized by director

Denis Langlois Denis Langlois (born 10 December 1968 in Drancy) is a French race walking, race walker. International competitions References

* 1968 births Living people People from Drancy French male racewalkers Olympic athletes of France Athletes (tr ...

in the 2005 film '' Amnesia: The James Brighton Enigma''. * October 28: Glen Murray is elected mayor of

, becoming Canada's and North America's first openly gay mayor of a major city.

1999

* May: The

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protes ...

launches an attack on the government of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

because the 1996 film '' Bubbles Galore'' had received production funding from various government agencies, including the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

, the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by On ...

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

and the Ontario Film Development Corporation, with party critics demanding to know why the government was funding what it called "lesbian porn".Jonathon Gatehouse, "When taxpayers go to the movies: Overseas it has won awards, but back home Bubbles Galore causes a different excitement". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', May 12, 1999. * June 3:

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 mayora ...

is elected in the Ontario provincial election, becoming Ontario's first openly gay MPP. * The

National Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

release previously sealed personal papers from former

mayor

Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Cana ...

, 24 years after her death. The released documents include a series of intimate personal letters between Whitton and Margaret Grier, a woman with whom Whitton lived in a

Boston marriage A "Boston marriage" was, historically, the cohabitation of two wealthy women, independent of financial support from a man. The term is said to have been in use in New England in the late 19th/early 20th century. Some of these relationships were r ...

until Grier's death. The release of these papers sparked much debate in the Canadian media about whether Whitton and Grier's relationship could be characterized as

, or merely as an emotionally intimate friendship between two unmarried women.

2000s

2000

Tim Stevenson Tim Stevenson (born 1945) is a Canadian politician and United Church minister. He served as councillor on the Vancouver City Council, 2002 to 2018 as a member of Vision Vancouver. He was a founding member of Vision Vancouver. Background Ste ...

is appointed to the

Legislative Council of British Columbia The Legislative Council of British Columbia was an advisory body created in 1867 to the governor of the "new" Colony of British Columbia, which had been created from the merger of the old Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia (a.k.a. ...

, becoming Canada's first openly gay

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. * ''

Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada (Minister of Justice) ''Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v Canada (Minister of Justice)'' 0002 S.C.R. 1120, 2000 SCC 69 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on freedom of expression and equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It ...

'', a landmark

case filed by

Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's", is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village/ West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The bookstore wa ...

against

Canada Customs The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cust ...

, begins. * September 15: Toronto Police raid Pussy Palace, a Toronto Women's Bathhouse Committee event. No charges were laid against participants, although police recorded the names of 10 women. Two volunteers were charged under the Liquor Licence Act, the event having had a special occasion permit. The charges were later stayed on constitutional grounds; the charter rights of participants were deemed to have been violated. In a subsequent protest supporters made use of the term

panty raid A panty raid was an American 1950s and early 1960s college prank in which large groups of male students attempted to invade the living quarters of female students and steal their panties (undergarments) as the trophies of a successful raid. The ...

— a march on the offices of the

Toronto Police Services The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

' 52 Division on October 28 features protestors, including male and female supporters waving undergarments in the air. City councillor

was sued for defamation by officers involved, for referring to the investigation as "a panty raid." * October 26: In a segment on

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...

in Canada which aired on

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

's news magazine series ''

Fourth Reading ''Fourth Reading'' was a weekly current events newsmagazine series in Canada, airing on TVOntario from 1992 to 2006.Bonnie Malleck, "Former CBC newscaster jumps ship to TVOntario". ''Waterloo Region Record'', October 2, 1992. History It was host ...

'' during the

2000 Canadian federal election The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 37th Canadian Parliament, 37th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Pa ...

campaign,

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

candidate Kevyn Nightingale faces criticism after he calls fellow panelist Randall Pearce, an openly gay candidate for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

, a "statistical deviant". Nightingale then defends his words by asserting that as a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

, he is also "statistically a deviant" himself.

2001

* June 10:

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

marches as the

grand marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military rank, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. ...

Calgary Pride Calgary Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The event is organized by Pride Calgary, a non-profit organization, and is currently held in the final week of August, with the closing parade falling on the fi ...

, becoming the first former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

ever to attend a Pride parade in that capacity. * September 7: PrideVision, the world's first LGBT-specific television channel, is launched by

Headline Media Group Score Media Inc. was a Canadian media company. Partially owned by Alliance Atlantis and later Canwest, its main asset was The Score, a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights, live events, and other ...

. * November 17: In one of Canada's most notorious anti-gay

resident

Aaron Webster Aaron Webster (June 1959 - November 17, 2001) was a gay man living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who was beaten by a group of men close to a gay cruising area in a wooded part of Stanley Park near Second Beach on November 17, 2001."'He ...

is assaulted and killed in

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...

by four young offenders. A march and vigil commemorating Webster and protesting anti-gay violence is held the following day."Beating death shocks B.C.'s gay community"
cbc.ca, November 18, 2001. *November 29:

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

MLA

Dale Eftoda Dale Eftoda is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Riverdale North in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002. He was a member of the Yukon Liberal Party caucus. Eftoda became the first openly gay member of ...

introduces his partner Robert Brown in the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada, three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only terri ...

, becoming the first openly gay member of that body.

2002

* May 10: In ''

Marc Hall v. Durham Catholic School Board ''Hall v Durham Catholic School Board'' was a 2002 court case in which Marc Hall, a Canadian teenager, fought a successful legal battle against the Durham Catholic District School Board to bring a same-sex date to his high school prom. The case m ...

'', a judge orders the

Durham Catholic District School Board The Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 45 prior to 1999) is a Catholic school board located in Durham Region, east of Toronto, Ontario. It currently runs 39 elementary scho ...

to allow Marc Hall, an openly gay student, to bring a same-sex date to the high school

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school yea ...

. * December 12: Goliath's, a bathhouse in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, is raided by Calgary Police. Charges move very slowly through the courts; the Crown ultimately drops all charges against customers of the bathhouse in December 2004, but proceeds with charges against the bathhouse owners.

2003

* June 12: The

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

rules, in ''Halpern v. Canada'', that the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

definition of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

as being between one man and one woman violates section 15 of the ''

''. The decision immediately legalizes

, and sets a legal precedent – over the next two years, similar court decisions legalize same-sex marriage in seven provinces and one territory before the federal ''

Civil Marriage Act The ''Civil Marriage Act'' is a federal statute legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada. At the time it became law, same-sex marriage had already been legalized by court decisions in all Canadian jurisdictions except Alberta, Prince Edward ...

'' is passed in 2005. * November 15: With same-sex marriage recognized by the courts, British Columbia cabinet minister

Ted Nebbeling Ted Nebbeling (1944 – October 28, 2009) was a British Columbia Legislative Assembly Member and Minister of State for the Community Charter from 2001 to 2004. Marriage He married Jan Holmberg, his partner of 32 years, on November 15, 2003, i ...

becomes Canada's first serving cabinet minister to legally marry his same-sex partner.

2004

* March 24: Gay Ontario MPP

dies of cancer. Controversy results when initial media reports of his death state that he was married to a woman. * August 13: Police raid the Warehouse baths in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

2005

* May 17: Gay MLA

Lorne Mayencourt Lorne Mayencourt (born 1957) is a Canadian politician, who formerly represented the electoral district of Vancouver-Burrard in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a member of the BC Liberal party. Career Mayencourt was first electe ...

is reelected in

Vancouver-Burrard Vancouver-Burrard was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It first appeared on the hustings in the 1933 general election and included the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano and Fairview. This versi ...

in the British Columbia provincial election, and gay candidate

Nicholas Simons Nicholas Simons is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia, representing the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast since 2005, and member of the New Democratic Party. Early life and career S ...

is elected to his first term in

Powell River-Sunshine Coast Powell River-Sunshine Coast is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Demographics Member of Legislative Assembly Election results , - , - , NDP , Nicholas Simons , alig ...

. Mayencourt's victory is not finalized until early June, however, due to a recount battle with gay challenger

. * June 26: On the 25th anniversary of Toronto's

Pride Week LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sh ...

, Bill Blair becomes the first

chief of police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

in the city's history to participate in the parade. * July 20: The federal ''

'', legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada, is given royal assent. * September 25:

Allison Brewer Allison Brewer (born July 15, 1954) is a Canadian social activist and politician, and the former leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party. She has been particularly active in areas of lesbian and gay rights and access to abortion. She is o ...

wins the leadership of the

New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique du Nouveau-Brunswick) is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). History Or ...

, becoming the first openly lesbian leader of a political party, and the first openly gay leader of a provincial political party, in Canada. * November 15: The openly gay

André Boisclair André Boisclair (; born April 14, 1966) is a former Canadian politician and convicted sex offender in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec. Between January 1996 and M ...

wins the leadership of the

in Quebec.

2006

* March 13: At the

26th Genie Awards The 26th Genie Awards were held on March 13, 2006 to honour films released in 2005. The ceremony was held at The Carlu theatre in Toronto. The ceremony was hosted by Lisa Ray and Terry David Mulligan. Nominees and winners The Genie Award winner i ...

, the gay-themed film ''

C.R.A.Z.Y. ''C.R.A.Z.Y.'' is a 2005 Canadian coming-of-age drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and co-written by Vallée and François Boulay. It tells the story of Zac, a young gay man dealing with homophobia while growing up with four brothers and h ...

'' wins the

for Best Motion Picture. * July 26 - August 5: Montreal hosts the

2006 World Outgames The 1st World Outgames took place in Montréal, Quebec, Canada from July 26, 2006, to August 5, 2006. The international conference was held from July 26 to the 29. The sporting events were held from July 29 to August 5. History The event evolved o ...

. On July 29, the

Declaration of Montreal The Declaration of Montreal on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Human Rights is a document adopted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on July 29, 2006, by the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights which formed part of the first World O ...

, an international statement of principle pertaining to the

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

of LGBT people around the world, is adopted at a conference held as part of the festivities. * November:

, Montreal's primary

LGBT pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

festival since 1993, decides to reposition itself as a general arts and music festival."Gay pride parade is alive, well and marching". ''

'', June 28, 2007. A new group,

Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal, also called Montreal Pride, is an annual LGBT pride festival in Montreal, Quebec. The event was founded in 2007 at the initiative of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ communities after the city's prior Pride festival, Divers/Cité, reposit ...

, incorporates to take over the management of the pride festival. Both events continue to coexist, at separate times during the summer, until Divers/Cité folds in 2015.

2007

* April 16: 103.9 Proud FM, Canada's first LGBT radio station and the first in the world operated by a commercial broadcaster rather than a community non-profit group, is launched in Toronto. * October 10: The Ontario provincial election is held. In addition to gay MPPs

Paul Ferreira Paul Ferreira (born in 1973) is a Canadian politician and one of the first openly gay politicians elected to provincial office in Canada. He also has the distinction of being the very first Azorean-Canadian MPP. He was elected to the Legislati ...

and

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

, gay candidates include Andrea Németh, a former editor with ''

fab Fab or FAB may refer to: Commerce * Fab (brand), a frozen confectionery * Fab (website), an e-commerce design web site * The FAB Awards, a food and beverage award * FAB Link, a European electricity link * Flavoured alcoholic beverage or alcopop, ...

'', in

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It covers the southern part of the Etobi ...

and Paul Pighin, the first openly

person to run as a major party candidate for provincial office in Ontario, in

London West London West (french: London-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in London, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district includes the northwest part of the City of London. I ...

2008

* September 29: At an all-candidates debate staged for a high school student audience in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

during the 2008 federal election, independent candidate David Popescu responds to a question about same-sex marriage by stating that "homosexuals should be executed". His remarks are widely criticized across Canada, and the

Greater Sudbury Police Service The Greater Sudbury Police Service is the police force for the municipality of Greater Sudbury, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but ...

investigates whether the comments constitute a crime under Canadian

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

legislation.Sudbury police investigate independent candidate over gay comments
, Canwest News Service, October 01, 2008. On October 2, he also calls for the execution of

Egale Canada Egale Canada (formerly Equality for Gays And Lesbians Everywhere) is an advocacy organization founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families, across Canada. ...

executive director

Helen Kennedy Helen Kennedy (born 1958) is a Canadian politician and social activist. She is the executive director of Egale Canada. Background Born in Ireland, she came to Canada in 1979 at age 21. Kennedy began her career as an activist and change agent wi ...

in an interview on

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a clea ...

, leading to a second hate crimes investigation by the

Toronto Police The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

. * October 23–26: Vancouver Pride hosts the InterPride Annual World Congress for Pride organizers from around the world. * October 29: Two provincial by-elections are held in

to fill vacancies in the provincial Legislative Assembly. Both are won by openly gay candidates —

Spencer Herbert Spencer Chandra Herbert is a Canadian politician who serves in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Canada. Representing the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), he won an October 2008 by-election in the electoral distric ...

is elected in

, and

Jenn McGinn Jenn McGinn (born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Vancouver-Fairview, in a by-election on October 29, 2008. ...

is elected in

Vancouver-Fairview Vancouver-Fairview is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Fairview is made up of two rectangles: one bounded by Granville Street to the east, 16th Avenue to the south, Arbutus Street to th ...

. * November 3: A lesbian couple, Jane Currie and Anji Dimitriou, are physically assaulted while waiting to pick up their son at Gordon B. Attersley Public School in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

by Mark Scott, the parent of another child at the school. Over 300 people gather outside Oshawa City Hall on November 14 to protest the incident. The

Durham Regional Police Service The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The force serves the following local municipalities, with a combined population of 706,200. * Pickering ...

later announce that the incident will not be prosecuted as a

, as Scott neither advocated

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

nor incited anyone else to join in the attack.

2009

* February 5: Ryan Cran, one of the killers in the

incident of 2001, is released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

after serving four years of a six-year sentence."Gay community troubled by release of killer in Stanley Park death"
cbc.ca, February 5, 2009. * March 5: Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General announces that they have concluded their hate crimes investigation in the David Popescu incident of 2008, and officially charge Popescu with two counts of willful promotion of hatred, under Section 319(2) of the

. His court appearance is scheduled for April 15. * March 13: Shawn Woodward is charged with aggravated assault after physically attacking 62-year-old Ritchie Dowrey in

's Fountainhead Pub, allegedly because "He’s a faggot. He deserved it." Dowrey had briefly bumped into Woodward's shoulder, which the heterosexual Woodward characterized during his trial as a predatory sexual advance."Man found guilty in Vancouver gay-bashing case"
''

'', August 11, 2010. Although Dowrey survived the assault, he suffered serious and permanent brain damage, and spent the entire rest of his life living in care facilities until his death in 2015. * April 24: In the British Columbia provincial election campaign,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate

Marc Dalton Marc Dalton is a Canadian politician. He is the current Conservative Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge after the 2019 Canadian federal election. He was a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia fo ...

faces controversy when an e-mail he sent to a colleague in 1996 is released to the media, in which he stated that * May 12: On election night in British Columbia, out gay MLA

is re-elected in

Vancouver-West End Vancouver-West End is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, established by the ''Electoral Districts Act, 2008''. It was contested for the first time in the 2009 election. Prior to 2009, the riding was part of Vancouver- ...

and out gay MLA

is re-elected in

. Out lesbian MLA

is defeated in

, but another out lesbian,

Mable Elmore Mable may refer to: * Mable (business), a U.S. business accelerator * Mable (name), list of people with the name See also * *Mabgate, from ''Mable''-gate, Mable being a middle English reference to 'loose women' *Mabel (disambiguation) Mabel is a ...

, is elected in

Vancouver-Kensington Vancouver-Kensington is a provincial electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Canada. Member of Legislative Assembly Since 2009, the district's member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) has been Mable Elmore. She ...

2010s

2010

*February 2: In an interview with

Andy Barrie Andy Barrie, (born January 30, 1945) is an American Canadian radio personality most known for his work at Toronto radio stations, first at CFRB and later as host of '' Metro Morning'' on CBLA-FM from 1995 until his retirement on March 1, 2010. ...

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

, Pamela Taylor, the

Ontario Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

candidate in the

Toronto Centre Toronto Centre (french: Toronto-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903) ...

by-election on February 4,

outs In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a ha ...

federal cabinet minister John Baird when Barrie asks her if she can name an openly gay member of her party. *February 4: Glen Murray, the openly gay former mayor of Winnipeg, is elected to the

in the Toronto Centre

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, succeeding the openly gay

after the latter resigns to run for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

. *February 8: The

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

begin in

and Whistler,

. The facilities in Whistler include the event's first-ever

Pride House Pride House is a dedicated temporary location which plays host to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes, volunteers and visitors attending the Olympics, Paralympics or other international sporting event in the host city. The firs ...

for LGBT athletes. *February 17: During Olympic coverage on the French-language sports network RDS, commentators Claude Mailhot and Alain Goldberg suggest that figure skater

Johnny Weir John Garvin Weir (; born July 2, 1984) is an American figure skater and television commentator. He is a two-time Olympian (representing the United States in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, respectively), the 2008 World bronze medalist, a t ...

should undergo a

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

test to see if he should be competing as a woman. The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians subsequently files a complaint with the

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) is an industry funded self-regulating organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its own members, Canada's private broadcasters. The coun ...

. *March 2:

and

MPs criticize

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

, the federal

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...

, after it is revealed that he personally ordered the removal of references to Canada's tolerance and acceptance of LGBT people from the newest version of the ministry's study guide for prospective new citizens. *May 21: Following controversy over the inclusion of the activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the 2009 Toronto Pride Parade, the event's organizers vote to ban the use of the phrase "Israeli apartheid" from the 2010 parade, after councillor

Giorgio Mammoliti Giorgio Mammoliti ( , ; born George Mammoliti on September 20, 1961) is a former Canadian politician who represented Ward 7 York West on the Toronto City Council from 2000 to 2018. He ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010. Mammoliti previously repre ...

brings a motion before

to have the city withdraw its funding from the event if the group is not banned. *August: Shawn Woodward, who physically assaulted Ritchie Dowrey in

's Fountainhead Pub (see March 13, 2009), is found guilty of assault. Justice Jocelyn Palmer rejects Woodward's defense that Dowrey had groped him, ultimately finding that " oodward'sintention was to deny, deflect and dissemble. He fabricated this story to justify his outrageous assault." He is subsequently sentenced to six years in jail on November 8."Hate crime motivated by ‘virulent homophobia,' rules Vancouver judge". ''

'', November 8, 2010. *October 2: Concurrently with a controversial spate of gay teen

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, two lesbian teenagers are found dead in a forest near Orangeville,

. *October 18: The home of a gay couple in Little Pond,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, is

. Both men escaped the fire unharmed, but their home was destroyed. In late October and November, a series of rallies and fundraising concerts is held in both Little Pond and

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

to support the couple and to oppose homophobic violence.

2011

*January 10: In a ruling by the

, the

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

song " Money for Nothing" is effectively banned from Canadian radio airplay after a gay resident of St. John's files a complaint because the lyrics contain the derogatory slur "faggot". The ruling is later rescinded on August 31, with the council leaving it to individual radio stations' discretion whether or not to play the song. *January 13: British Columbia MLA

Mike Farnworth Michael C. Farnworth (born July 23, 1959) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 15th and current deputy premier of British Columbia since 2021, and the minister of public safety and solicitor general since 2017. A member of the British C ...

comes out, becoming the fourth openly gay member of the provincial legislature. Alongside caucus colleague

, he is the second openly gay candidate in the party's 2011 leadership race. *April: The controversial activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid announces its withdrawal from the 2011 Toronto Pride Parade, after

reasserts its intention to withdraw funding support from the parade if the group participates. *May 2: In the 2011 election, gay Members of Parliament

Rob Oliphant Robert Oliphant (born June 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician and a United Church minister. He served in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Don Valley West from 2008 to 2011. He returned to office afte ...

and Mario Silva are defeated, and

Bill Siksay William Livingstone Siksay (born March 11, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011. Early life Siksay ...

retires from politics; however, three new gay candidates,

Randall Garrison Randall C. Garrison (born August 27, 1951) is a Canadian politician. Elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, he represents the electoral district of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and is a member of the New Democratic Party ...

Dany Morin Dany Morin (born December 19, 1985) is a Canadian businessman and former politician, who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. He represented the electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord as a member of the New Democrat ...

and Philip Toone, win seats in Parliament. Along with returning incumbents

Libby Davies Libby Davies (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. She was the member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, House Leader for the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011, and Deputy Leader ...

and

Scott Brison Scott A. Brison (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian former politician from Nova Scotia. Brison served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants from the 1997 federal election until July 2000, then from November 2000 to Febru ...

, the number of openly gay Members of Parliament remains at five. *October 11: In the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial election,

Gerry Rogers Gerry Rogers (born 1956) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and politician. She was leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party from 2018 until 2019. She served in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as NDP MHA for ...

becomes the first openly gay politician ever elected to the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Build ...

. *October 14: Jamie Hubley, the son of

city councillor

Allan Hubley Allan Hubley (born 1958) is a municipal politician in Ottawa, Ontario, who has served as an Ottawa City Councillor for Kanata South Ward since 2010. Background Born and raised in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Hubley first moved to Kanata in 19 ...

, commits suicide after having

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ged for a month about the anti-gay bullying he was facing at school."15-year-old Jamie Hubley's lonely cry for acceptance"
. ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', October 17, 2011. The bullying had begun as early as Grade 7, with students on Jamie's bus attempting to stuff

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

in his mouth because he preferred

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

over

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. The incident leads to several Canadian media and political figures posting videos dedicated to Hubley as part of the online

It Gets Better Project It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...

, as well as an act of the

to impose stiffer penalties for bullying in schools which passes in 2012.

2012

*March 19: Craig Scott wins the federal by-election in

Toronto—Danforth Toronto—Danforth (formerly Broadview—Greenwood) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto. Its best-known MP was New ...

, becoming the sixth openly gay MP in the

41st Canadian Parliament The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2 ...

. *April 14: Allan Hunsperger, a Christian minister from

Tofield, Alberta Tofield is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 14, Highway 834, and Highway 626. Beaverhill Lake is located immediately northeast of the community. History Before 1865, only A ...

, running as a Wildrose candidate in the Alberta provincial election, becomes a focus of controversy when a blog post he wrote in 2011, in his capacity as a church minister, is publicized in the media. The blog post, structured and themed as a rebuttal to

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's song " Born This Way", asserts that "accepting people the way they are is cruel and not loving", and that gay people are destined to "suffer the rest of eternity in the lake of fire". *April 17: Halifax gay activist

Raymond Taavel Raymond Taavel (June 9, 1962 – April 17, 2012) was a Canadian LGBTQ rights activist who was attacked and killed by Andre Noel Denny on April 17, 2012 outside Menz Bar, Gottingen Street while protecting another person. He was thereafter posthumo ...

is beaten to death outside Menz & Mollyz, a gay bar on the city's Göttingen Street, by Andre Denny, a paranoid schizophrenic on an unsupervised leave from a nearby mental hospital, after attempting to break up a fight between Denny and another man."Fundraiser planned in memory of N.S. gay activist"

, April 21, 2012. Taavel was a former chair of the city's

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

festival and a former editor at the LGBT magazine ''

Wayves ''Wayves'' () was a Canadian print magazine, published 11 times yearly in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in Atlantic Canada. The magazine was published by a non-profit A nonprofit organiza ...

'' and worked at the spiritual magazine ''

Shambhala Sun ''Lion's Roar'' (previously ''Shambhala Sun'') is an independent, bimonthly magazine (in print and online) that offers a nonsectarian view of "Buddhism, Culture, Meditation, and Life". Presented are teachings from the Buddhist and other contemplat ...

''. Over 1,000 people attend a vigil in Taavel's memory later the same evening, which includes performances by poet

Tanya Davis Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her style is marked primarily by spoken word poetry set to music. Background Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, she moved to Ottawa for a time after h ...

, actor and writer Stewart Legere and singer-songwriters

Rose Cousins A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

and

Ria Mae Ria MacNutt, known professionally as Ria Mae, is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career As a child, Mae's family moved around Halifax, switching from school to school while she learned to write songs. Ria has describe ...

. Although there were unconfirmed allegations that Denny used anti-gay slurs while attacking Taavel,"Man accused of murdering gay activist Raymond Taavel should never have been released: lawyer"
''

'', April 18, 2012. to date media and the police have not asserted that the case clearly constituted a hate crime, generally attributing the attack to Denny's mental illness rather than to a specifically anti-gay bias. Ironically, Taavel had previously survived a more clearly anti-gay physical attack, which he wrote about in ''Wayves'' in May 2010. *April 18: For the second year in a row,

Mayor

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

declines an invitation to attend the city's annual

Pride Parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, on the grounds that it conflicts with his family's traditional

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

weekend."Mayor Rob Ford refuses to attend Pride parade"
''

'', April 18, 2012. Unlike in 2011, however, he subsequently attends a

PFLAG PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to ...

event on May 17 to mark the

International Day Against Homophobia International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By ...

. *April 20: Due to a channel switching error at

Shaw Cable Shaw Communications Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and Br ...

facilities in

, the morning newscast on

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jack ...

is replaced for three minutes by a clip of a

gay porn Gay pornography is the representation of sexual activity between males. Its primary goal is sexual arousal in its audience. Softcore gay pornography also exists; it at one time constituted the genre, and may be produced as beefcake pornogra ...

movie. *May 19: Following a legal battle to reverse her disqualification for not being a "naturally born female", Vancouver resident

Jenna Talackova Jenna Talackova (born October 15, 1988) is a Canadian model, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who gained media attention in 2012 when she successfully waged a legal battle to be allowed to compete in the Miss Universe Canada a ...

successfully becomes the first

woman to compete in a

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

pageant."Transgender contestant falls short at Miss Universe Canada"

, May 19, 2012. She does not make the Top 5, but is one of four contestants awarded the title of "Miss Congeniality". *November: Twenty LGBT officers of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

release an online video as part of the international

. *December 6: Bill No. 140 of the

61st General Assembly of Nova Scotia 61st General Assembly of Nova Scotia is an assembly of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the d ...

known as the Transgendered Persons Protection Act was given

by the then Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

Mayann Francis Mayann Elizabeth Francis, (born February 18, 1946) was the List of lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia#Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia, 1867-present, 31st Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Lieutenant Governor of the Canadian provinces and ...

. It added both gender identity and gender expression to the list of things explicitly protected from harassment in the province's Human Rights Act.

2013

*February 11:

is sworn as

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

, becoming both Ontario's first female premier and Canada's first openly LGBT first minister. *March 12:

announces the discontinuation of long-running Toronto LGBT magazine ''

''."RIP Fab Magazine (1994-2013)"
''

NOW Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', March 12, 2013. *March 20: The House of Commons passes Bill C-279, a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

2014

*February 4:

St. John's City Council St. John's City Council has been the governing body of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1888, St. John's city council has governed under the Colony of Newfoundland, the Dominion of Newfoundland and since 1949, Canada. Th ...

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

unanimously votes to fly the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognized u ...

at City Hall for the duration of the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

, to protest anti-gay laws in Russia,"St. John's to fly rainbow flag during Olympics"

, February 5, 2014. setting off a national campaign which is quickly joined by the municipal councils of Gander,

Happy Valley-Goose Bay Happy Valley-Goose Bay (Inuit: ''Vâli'') is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest popul ...

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

Mount Pearl Mount Pearl is the third-largest settlement and second-largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Mount Pearl is the fo ...

, and Stephenville in

; Halifax in

;

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

"Rainbow flags raised at city halls across the Maritimes"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

, February 7, 2014. and

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

;

"Rainbow flag flying in Prince Edward Island"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', February 12, 2014. and Stratford in

; Gaspé,"Drapeau de la fierté gaie: Trois-Rivières n'a toujours pas emboîté le pas"
'' Le Nouvelliste'', February 11, 2014.

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

,"Rainbow flag flies above Montreal City Hall for Sochi Games"

, February 7, 2014.

Rimouski Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the C ...

, Saguenay,

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstre ...

and

Victoriaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabask ...

;

,"Canadian cities to fly gay pride flags in Olympic protest"
''

'', February 6, 2014. Kingston,

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

,"Advocacy group unhappy with Kitchener’s indoor rainbow flag"

, February 12, 2014.

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

and

"Rob Ford wants Pride flag — just raised at City Hall to support gay rights at Sochi — taken down"
''

'', February 7, 2014. in

; Regina and

;

,"Flip, flop, fly: Rainbow flag flies at Edmonton City Hall and Calgary follows suit"
''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', February 7, 2013.

, St. Albert and

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

;

, Whistler and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

;

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

"Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Whitehorse city halls fly rainbow flag"

, February 11, 2014. in

;

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

; and

Iqaluit Iqaluit ( ; , ; ) is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, its largest community, and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. In 1987, its t ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

. Toronto mayor

initially objects to the gesture, but relents after conversations with several other city councillors encouraging him to reconsider. Kitchener also faces some controversy as it opts to display the flag inside city hall rather than on an outside flagpole. In addition, rainbow flags have also been raised on the grounds of the provincial legislatures of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Manitoba and the tower of Montreal's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

is being illuminated in rainbow colours. The three political parties in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario also filed a request to fly the flag at Queen's Park, which was initially declined because the existing protocol explicitly limited the special events flagpole to country flags and the

Franco-Ontarian flag The Franco-Ontarian flag is a symbol created to represent Franco-Ontarians, reflecting the diverse languages, seasons and people of Ontario. The design consists of two bands of green and white. The left portion has a solid light green background ...

; when the legislature resumed for its spring session on February 18, the very first order of business placed on the agenda was a formal motion to raise the flag, which passed with the unanimous consent of all three parties. *June:

hosts the 2014 edition of

WorldPride WorldPride, licensed by InterPride and organized by one of its member organizations, is an event that promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ pride) issues on an international level through parades, festivals and other cult ...

. *September: New Pride festivals launch for the first time in the Ontario cities of Sault Ste. Marie and

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...

. *September 21:

Jim Deva Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's", is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village/ West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The bookstore wa ...

, an influential LGBT activist and co-owner of

, dies at age 65 following an accident in his home. *December 2: The

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ...

, in collaboration with

and the international

You Can Play You Can Play is a social activism campaign dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports, centered on the slogan, "If you can play, you can play." The campaign was launched on March 4, 2012, by its three co-founders: Patrick Burke (a scou ...

foundation, announces a new program to combat

in sports by training Canadian athletes to speak on LGBT issues to students and youth groups. In conjunction with the announcement, the LGBT sports publication ''

Outsports ''Outsports'' is a sports news website concerned with LGBT issues and personalities in amateur and professional sports. The company was founded in 1999 by Cyd Zeigler, Jr. and Jim Buzinski. ''The Outsports Revolution'' (Alyson Publications), by ...

'' publishes three coming out profiles of Canadian Olympic athletes

Rose Cossar Rose Cossar (born July 4, 1991), also known as Rosie, is a Canadian rhythmic gymnast, who represented Canada at the 2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Background Cossar was bo ...

, Kris Burley and

Eric Radford Eric Radford (born January 27, 1985) is a Canadian Pair skating, pair skater. With former partner Meagan Duhamel, he is a two-time world champion (2015 World Figure Skating Championships, 2015, 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, 2016), a Fig ...

2015

*January 14:

announces that it is discontinuing its three LGBT print news titles, '' Xtra Toronto'', ''

Xtra Vancouver ''Xtra Vancouver'' (), formerly ''Xtra! West'', was a gay bi-weekly newspaper, published by Pink Triangle Press in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Printed on newsprint in tabloid format from its establishment in 1993, Pink Triangle Press ...

'' and ''

Xtra Ottawa ''Xtra Ottawa'' (formerly ''Capital Xtra'') was a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was launched in 1993. Unlike its biweekly sister publications ''Xtra'' in Toronto and ''Xtra Vanc ...

'', which will continue as an exclusively

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

publication after their final editions are published on February 12 (Vancouver and Ottawa) and February 19 (Toronto), 2015."Gay newspaper Xtra to stop printing, go digital only"
''

'', January 14, 2015. *February 23:

Wade MacLauchlan H. Wade MacLauchlan CM OPEI (born 10 December 1954), is a Canadian legal academic, university administrator, politician and community leader. He served as the fifth president of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1999 to 2011, becomin ...

is sworn in as

Premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King (politician), Den ...

, becoming Canada's second openly gay provincial premier. *February 25: The

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

amends Bill C-279, the transgender equality bill passed by the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in 2013, in ways which are criticized as

transphobic Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...

. *February 26: Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, the activist group whose participation in Toronto's

parade of 2010 led to attempts by

to strip Pride's funding, announces that it is disbanding. *May 4: Wade MacLauchlan's

Prince Edward Island Liberal Party The Prince Edward Island Liberal Party (officially the ''Prince Edward Island Liberal Association'') is a political party in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. The PEI Liberals are affiliated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada. H ...

wins the Prince Edward Island provincial election. MacLauchlan wins his own seat as MLA for

York-Oyster Bed York-Oyster Bed is a former provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, making him the province's first out gay Member of the Legislative Assembly. *May 5: In the Alberta provincial election, candidates Michael Connolly,

Ricardo Miranda Ricardo Miranda (born August 22, 1976) is a Canadian politician and trade unionist who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2015 Alberta general election representing the electoral district of Calgary-Cross. On February 2, ...

and

Estefania Cortes-Vargas Estefan Cortes-Vargas (born Estefania Cortes-Vargas, 1991) is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the elector ...

win election to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

as the province's first three openly LGBT MLAs. *May 22: The

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

sign American player

Michael Sam Michael Alan Sam Jr. (born January 7, 1990) is an American professional football defensive lineman for the Barcelona Dragons in the European League of Football. A defensive end, Sam played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was drafted ...

to a two-year contract, making him the first openly gay player in the league's history."Michael Sam first openly gay CFL player as he joins Alouettes"
''

'', May 22, 2015. Sam previously made history as the first openly gay player to be selected by a team in the

NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

, but had been cut from the squads of two NFL teams before actually playing a game. He makes his official CFL debut on August 7 in a game against the

Ottawa RedBlacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

,"Alouettes' Michael Sam leaves team for mental health reasons"

, August 14, 2015. but announces a week later that he is leaving the team for personal reasons. *June 24: Film historian

Thomas Waugh Thomas Waugh is a Canadian critic, lecturer, author, actor, and activist, best known for his extensive work on documentary film and eroticism in the history of LGBT cinema and art. A professor emeritus at Concordia University, he taught 41 years ...

and filmmaker Kim Simard launch the Queer Media Database, an online project to collect and publish information about LGBT films made in Canada. *June 28: For the first time in the history of Toronto's

, a contingent of federal

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

MPs and provincial

MPPs participates in the parade. Organized by the new

LGBTory LGBTory is a Canadian LGBT conservative organization. The group was established in 2015, as an advocacy group for LGBT supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada and provincial conservative parties. While officially open to all LGBT suppor ...

, the marching contingent includes federal MPs

Kellie Leitch Khristinn Kellie Leitch (born July 30, 1970) is a Canadian surgeon and former politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe—Grey from 2011 to 2019 as a member of the Conservative Party. She was first elected in th ...

and

Bernard Trottier Bernard Trottier (born March 13, 1965) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Conservative Party member House of Commons of Canada who served from 2011 to 2015 representing the Toronto riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. Trottier was elected in ...

, Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown and MPPs

Lisa MacLeod Lisa Anne MacLeod (born 1974) is a Canadian politician who has represented Nepean in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Elected in 2018, MacLeod is a member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party. She previously served as the Ontario m ...

and

Jack MacLaren Jack MacLaren (born ) is a Canadian former politician who represented the eastern Ontario riding of Carleton—Mississippi Mills in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2018. Originally elected as a member of the Progressive Conservat ...

. *July: In conjunction with the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

in Toronto, The 519 and the

village partner in

, a service for LGBT athletes. It is the first Pride House ever organized at a Pan American Games event, and only the second organized in Canada after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. *September 3: David Popescu, a fringe candidate who was convicted in 2009 on hate speech charges after advocating the public execution of homosexuals, is arrested a second time after similar claims that he distributed anti-gay literature during the

provincial by-election campaign in early 2015. *September: Mackenzie Mountain School in

Norman Wells Norman Wells ( Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, settled about 140 km (87 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional o ...

, hosts the town's first-ever LGBT pride event. *October 19: In the 2015 federal election, six LGBT Members of Parliament are elected to the House of Commons:

and

as re-elected incumbents,

as a former MP winning back his seat after having been defeated in 2011, and

Randy Boissonnault Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, he represents the riding of Edmonton C ...

Seamus O'Regan Seamus Thomas Harris O'Regan (born January 18, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the Minister of Natural Resources from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, O'Regan has represented St. John's South—Mount Pearl in the Hou ...

and

Sheri Benson Sheri Benson (born 1962 or 1963) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Saskatoon West in the House of Commons of Canada from the 2015 election until her defeat in 2019. She is a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Prior t ...

as new MPs. Incumbent MPs Craig Scott,

and Philip Toone are defeated, and

retires from the House, leaving the overall number of LGBT MPs unchanged from the previous parliament. Unsuccessful LGBT candidates include Jennifer McCreath, a

Strength in Democracy Strength in Democracy ( French: ''Forces et Démocratie'', ) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 2014 by two Quebec Members of Parliament (MPs). From October 2014 to October 2015, the party was represented in the House of Commons of ...

candidate in

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

who is the first

candidate in a federal election in Canada. *November 23:

Julie Green Julie Green is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election. She represents the electoral district of Yellowknife Centre. Green was re-elected in 2019. She was acclaimed to ...

is elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

as the first out LGBT member of that legislature. *November 24: Michelle DuBarry, an 84-year-old

, is awarded the title of World's Oldest Performing Drag Queen by the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. *December 1: During debate in the

on the inclusion of

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

as protected grounds in the provincial Human Rights Code, MLA

(formerly reported in media as a lesbian-identified woman) formally comes out as

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

, becoming Canada's first transgender-identified holder of a major political office."An Alberta MLA on battling gender identity"
''

'', December 1, 2015. *December 17:

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

indicates that he will attend Toronto's 2016

Pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

, becoming the first sitting

ever to attend a Pride event. *December 17:

Kael McKenzie Kael McKenzie (born 1971) is a Canadian judge, who was appointed to the Provincial Court of Manitoba on December 17, 2015. He is noted as the first transgender person ever appointed a judge in Canada.Provincial Court of Manitoba The Provincial Court of Manitoba (french: Cour provinciale du Manitoba) is the lower trial court of the Province of Manitoba. It has mainly a criminal jurisdiction, as well as limited concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of King's Bench in ma ...

, becoming Canada's first-ever openly

judge.

2016

*January 21: Through her foundation,

Jennifer Pritzker Jennifer Natalya Pritzker (born James Nicholas Pritzker; August 13, 1950) is an American investor, philanthropist, and member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker retired as a Lieutenant Colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel from the Illinois ...

gives a $2 million donation to create the world's first endowed academic chair of

transgender studies Transgender studies, also called trans studies or trans* studies, is an interdisciplinary field of academic research dedicated to the study of gender identity, gender expression, and gender embodiment, as well as to the study of various issues of ...

, at the

University of Victoria in British Columbia The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary institu ...

;

Aaron Devor Aaron H. Devor (born 1951), is a Canadian sociologist and sexologist known for researching transsexuality and transgender communities. Devor has taught at the University of Victoria since 1989 and is the former dean of graduate studies. Gartner, ...

was chosen as the inaugural chair. *February 2:

was appointed as Alberta's Minister of Culture and Tourism by Alberta premier Rachel Notley, and became Alberta's first openly gay cabinet member. *February 23: The ceremonial first kiss shared between a sailor and their partner after returning from active duty in the Canadian Navy was between two men for the first time. *February 28: CBC News reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intended to recommend that a pardon under the authority of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy be granted posthumously to

, the last person in Canada to be imprisoned for homosexuality. *May 17: Federal Minister of Justice

Jody Wilson-Raybould Jody Wilson-Raybould (born March 23, 1971), also known by her initials JWR and by her Kwak’wala name Puglaas, is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the British Columbia (BC) riding of Van ...

introduces

Bill C-16 ''An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code'' (french: Loi modifiant la Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne et le Code criminel) is a law passed by the Parliament of Canada. The law adds gender expression and ...

, which will update the

and the

to include "gender identity and gender expression" as protected grounds from discrimination, hate publications and advocating genocide. The bill will also add "gender identity and expression" to the list of aggravating factors in sentencing, where the accused commits a criminal offence against an individual because of those personal characteristics."Transgender Canadians should 'feel free and safe' to be themselves under new Liberal bill"

, May 17, 2016. Although the

had introduced similar

s several times in previous years, C-16 represents the first time such a bill has been put forward by the governing party in the House of Commons. *June 1: For the first time in Canadian history, a

pride flag A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBT community. ''Pride'' in this case refers to the notion of gay pride. The terms ''LGBT flag'' and ''queer flag'' are often used interchangeably. The rainbow flag is the most ...

is raised 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 architectu ...

in Ottawa. *June 22: Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders issues an official statement of regrets for the

raids of 1981. *July 3: The Toronto chapter of

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

stages a protest as honoured guests of

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

, demanding more funding to people of colour events at pride, and removal of police floats in future parades. *July 9: The city of Steinbach becomes the first rural community in Manitoba to host a Pride event. The march and rally united over 3,000 participants and made national headlines. The Steinbach Pride event was a significant milestone, as LGBT rights became formally recognized in a predominantly Mennonite community (with just over 15,000 residents). *August 27: The city of

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, hosts its inaugural Pride, quickly following in the footsteps of Steinbach's Pride in July. The march, rally, and social attracted between 1,000 and 1,200 people - another milestone in a rural, Conservative area. Portage la Prairie, with a population of only 13,000, is one of the smallest communities to host a Pride event in Canada. *September 17: The Reverend Canon Kevin Robertson is elected a bishop in the Diocese of Toronto, becoming the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. *November 11: Toronto Police press 89 charges – only one of which is criminal in nature—against 72 people as part of 'Project Marie', an under-cover sting operation in a Toronto park long known for its gay cruising. Politicians and civil society groups speak out and provide pro bono legal support of those charged. *November 15: Federal MP

is named as the government's LGBTQ issues advisor, with a mandate "to advance and protect the rights of the community and address historical injustices". *November 25: In conjunction with the Strikers sports bar in Toronto, the

and

host the first-ever officially league-sponsored LGBTQ

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

party.

2017

*January 17:

Gabrielle Tremblay Gabrielle Tremblay (born July 27, 1990 in La Malbaie, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian actress and writer, who received a Canadian Screen Award nomination as Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actress at the 5th Can ...

receives a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

, for her role in ''

Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves ''Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves'' (french: Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) is a 2016 Canadian drama film directed by Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie. It stars Charlotte ...

(Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau)'', becoming the first transgender actress nominated for either a CSA or their predecessor

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

. *January 31:

, the pastor of the

, is found not guilty of charges relating to allegations of

indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broad ...

alleged to have occurred in 1974. *March 12: At the

5th Canadian Screen Awards The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017. Awards in many of the technical categor ...

, the gay-themed film ''

It's Only the End of the World ''It's Only the End of the World'' (french: Juste la fin du monde) is a 2016 drama film written, edited and directed by Xavier Dolan. The film is based on the play of the same name by Jean-Luc Lagarce and stars Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Mario ...

'' wins the

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

for Best Motion Picture. *June 19:

, after having passed the legislative process in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, became law upon receiving

which put it into immediate force. The law updated the

and the

to include "gender identity and gender expression" as protected grounds from discrimination, hate publications and advocating genocide. The bill also added "gender identity and expression" to the list of aggravating factors in sentencing, where the accused commits a criminal offence against an individual because of those personal characteristics. *June 3: The first known same-sex wedding involving an

Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...

man takes place in

between Joe Kucharski and Dwayne Nowdlak. *July 9: Jeff Rock is announced as the new senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, to succeed Hawkes upon the latter's retirement in the fall."Rev. Jeff Rock to lead Toronto LGBTQ congregation"
. ''RDNews Now'', July 13, 2017. *November 28: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offers an apology to the LGBTQ2S community in the House of Commons and the reparations process begins. Section 159 would be repealed. Errors from the Purge of the 1950s through the 1990s resulting in criminal records of individuals would be corrected by the destruction of such files. Civil servants and military personnel who lost their livelihoods from this discriminatory policy based on sexual orientation will share in a 110 million Canadian Dollar settlement of a class action suit.

2018

*January 11: Canadian Women's Hockey League player Jessica Platt comes out as a transgender woman, making her the first transgender woman to come out in North American professional hockey. *January 18: Bruce McArthur is arrested in conjunction with the deaths of several men who went missing in Toronto's

gay village between 2010 and 2017. He has to date been charged with eight counts of first-degree murder. *February: Canadian

becomes the first openly gay man to win a gold medal at any Winter Olympics. *April 8:

becomes the first openly gay person to win the leadership of a Newfoundland and Labrador political party. *June 6:

, Canada's and Ontario's first openly LGBT provincial premier, is defeated as premier in the 2018 Ontario general election; however, she is successfully reelected to the legislature as MPP in her own district. The other two out LGBT MPPs in the previous legislature, Cheri DiNovo and Glen Murray, retire from politics and do not run for reelection; however, Terence Kernaghan and Jill Andrew are elected, keeping LGBT representation in the legislature at three. *June 1: The Fruit Machine (2018 film), ''The Fruit Machine'', directed by Sarah Fodey, premieres at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. The documentary presents survivor accounts of the gay purge of the 1950s through 1990s in the Canadian military and civil service using the "fruit machine" as a scientific detection tool. *June 13: Jim Egan, an important early gay rights activist, becomes the subject of the first ''Heritage Minute'' on an LGBTQ2 theme.

2019

*April 23: The Canadian Mint introduces a special Loonie, Canadian dollar coin, designed by Vancouver LGBT artist Joe Average, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. *June 15: Pride Hamilton, the annual LGBTQ Pride event in

, is disrupted by a violent anti-LGBTQ protest. The Hamilton Police Service subsequently face criticism, both for taking too long to respond to the immediate situation and for its post-confrontation arrests, which initially targeted people who were defending the event against the violence rather than the instigators of it. Later arrests did include some of the protestors. The community reaction includes direct pickets of mayor Fred Eisenberger's home, which Eisenberger characterizes as inappropriate harassment of his family and as not representative of the city's LGBTQ community. *June 21: The Canadian Government repeals Section 159 of the Criminal Code, which prohibited anal intercourse except by a husband and a wife or two persons who are both 18 years or older, provided that the act was consensual and took place in private. The repeal of Section 159 eliminates the disparity in the age of consent for anal intercourse versus other sexual acts; the age of consent is now 16 for all sexual acts. *August 17: In an op-ed to the ''

'', Jim Watson (Canadian politician), Jim Watson announces that he is coming out of the closet, becoming Ottawa's first openly gay mayor and making Ottawa the largest city in Canada to have had an out LGBTQ mayor. *October 21: In the 2019 Canadian federal election, out LGBT MPs

and

are reelected,

and

are defeated,

retires from politics and does not run for a new term, and Eric Duncan (politician), Eric Duncan is newly elected to his first term, resulting in LGBT representation in Parliament declining slightly from six MPs to four.

2020s

2020

*January 21:

announces that Olivia Nuamah is no longer its executive director, as of January 15. Despite concerns from the organization's membership about the timing of her departure just months before the 2020 event, the board declines to clarify the reasons for her departure, or even whether she resigned or was fired. *March/April: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, both Pride Toronto and

, Canada's two largest and most prominent pride festivals, are cancelled. Several pride festivals cancel their regular events, but announce plans to proceed with online "digital pride" festivals, including Vancouver Pride,

, Capital Pride (Ottawa), Capital Pride (Ottawa) and Sudbury Pride. Vancouver Pride is additionally targeted during this time by scammers who post fraudulent posters around the city's West End, Vancouver, West End to solicit donations via Bitcoin. *May/June: Pegasus, a popular bar in Toronto's

village, announces that it is at risk of closing because its landlord is refusing to participate in the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program. The federal government program had been designed to help protect small businesses from closure by subsidizing their rent during the coronavirus shutdown, but still leaves businesses vulnerable because it requires buy-in from the landlord as well. In early June, it is announced that the landlord has finally agreed to participate in the program. *March: Due to COVID-19 and its associated shutdowns of LGBT bars and events, Toronto residents Ceréna, Ceréna Sierra, Casey Manierka-Quaile, Casey MQ, Brad Allen and Mingus New launch the Zoom (software), Zoom-based Club Quarantine DJ nights, which grow to become an international phemomenon. *June 24: Out lesbian singer-songwriter Safia Nolin coordinates Saint-Jeanne, an LGBTQ-inclusive Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day livestream whose participants include comedians Tranna Wintour and Karl Hardy, actress and writer

, songwriter and producer Annie Sama (Apigeon), rapper Backxwash and drag queens Kiara (drag queen), Kiara, Matante Alex and Gisèle Lullaby. *June 24: CBC Gem and

collaborate on Queer Pride Inside, an online event hosted by Elvira Kurt and featuring performances by Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Teiya Kasahara, Yovska, Ivan Coyote, Les Femmes Fatales, Gay Jesus, Cris Derksen, Luna Dubois, Pearle Harbour, Tawiah M'carthy, Stewart Legere, Alexis O'Hara, Trey Anthony and Ryan G. Hinds. *July 2: The first season of ''Canada's Drag Race'', the Canadian edition of the ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' franchise, premieres. *August 14: All of the queens who competed in ''Canada's Drag Race'' participate in a special online edition of

's annual Drag Superstars show. *September 3: Priyanka (drag queen), Priyanka is announced as the first season winner of ''Canada's Drag Race''. *May 13: Charlotte Gauthier is elected to the municipal council of Gillams, Newfoundland and Labrador, Gillams,

in a

, becoming the province's first out transgender municipal councillor.Rosie Mullaley
"'I finally got to be who I really am': Newfoundland's first transgender councillor grateful for support"
SaltWire Network, October 11, 2021.

2021

*June 8: The business improvement association in Toronto's

gay village calls for the removal of the Alexander Wood statue from the corner of Church and Maitland Streets, following the revelation that Wood was involved in the Society for Converting and Civilizing the Indians and Propagating the Gospel Among Destitute Settlers in Upper Canada, which contributed to the creation of the Indian residential school system in Canada. *June 9: The Ottawa Redblacks of the

announce the suspension of Chris Larsen after his participation in a gay-bashing attack is alleged. Larsen was drafted by the team in 2019, but has never yet played on the field in a Redblacks game. The police clear him of involvement on June 16. *June 26–27: With large-scale public events still curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic,

again proceeds virtually. The event was hosted by Priyanka, with performers including Allie X, iskwē and Gary Beals. Despite the lack of an official Pride celebration, some small-scale participant-organized Pride events did take place over the weekend, including a Dyke March and a No Pride in Policing rally. *September 20 - A record eight LGBTQ MPs are elected to Parliament in the 2021 Canadian federal election:

and Eric Duncan (politician), Eric Duncan are all reelected,

returns to Parliament after having been defeated in 2019, and Blake Desjarlais, Melissa Lantsman and Pascale St-Onge are newly elected as first-time MPs. Desjarlais, additionally, is the first

MP ever elected to the House of Commons. O'Regan, Boissonnault and St-Onge are all subsequently appointed as members of the Cabinet of Canada, setting a record for LGBTQ representation in cabinet. *September 28 - Ophelia Ravencroft wins a seat on

in the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador municipal elections, becoming the city's first out transgender city councillor. Additionally, Charlotte Gauthier, who joined the municipal council of Gillams in a 2020 by-election as the first transgender municipal councillor provincewide, is reelected to a new full term. *December 1 - After a bill banning anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy died on the order paper due to the 2021 election, an all-party agreement in the Canadian House of Commons fast-tracks the approval of the bill by unanimous consent. The bill is subsequently unanimously approved by the

on December 7.

2022

* March 17 - The CBC premieres ''CBX: Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza'', a web series highlighting Canadian ballroom culture. * April 4 - Following the 2021 revelations about Alexander Wood's role in the development of the Indian residential school system, the Wood statue in Toronto's Church and Wellesley village is removed. * April 30 - After moving into a long-term care home due to early symptoms of dementia, legendary Toronto drag queen Michelle DuBarry sells a selection of her drag wardrobe and jewellery in a community fundraising sale at the 519. * August 7 -

cancels its planned parade just a few hours before it was set to begin, with organizers blaming a lack of volunteer security staff due to COVID. Despite the cancellation of the official parade, however, over 1,000 attendees stage their own informal pride march along the parade route. * September 26 - Nathaniel Teed wins a by-election in Saskatoon Meewasin, becoming the first openly gay member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. * November - A new Heritage Minute commercial is released about the life and career of transgender singer Jackie Shane. * November 7 - Suzette Mayr wins the Giller Prize for ''The Sleeping Car Porter'', her novel about a closeted gay Black Canadian railway porter working in 1929. * December 12 - Mark Neufeld, the chief of the Calgary Police Service, issues a public statement of apology for the Goliath's raid of 2002.

2023

*June 4 - Alex Simpson and Leandra Earl launch Lavender Wild, a one-day LGBTQ music festival at Ontario Place's Echo Beach stage. *June 8 - Policy 713, an education policy in

that ensures a safe educational environment for LGBTQ students in the province, was officially revised by the Government of New Brunswick, provincial government following a controversial month-long review led by Premier Blaine Higgs. Following the revision, similar legislation has been implemented in

. *September 1 - CIRR-FM ("103.9 Proud FM"), launched in 2007 as Canada's and the world's first commercial radio station targeted specifically to an LGBT listening audience, is shut down by its owner Evanov Communications. * September 20 - A national '1 Million March 4 Children' protest was carried out by hundreds of protesters throughout various cities in Canada, protesting against "gender identity curriculum" in schools.

References

External links

Documenting Queer Canadian History: A Bibliographic Record of Gay And Lesbian (LGBTQ) Diversity from Earliest Times to 2010.
(2019 PDF document, 1869 pages; this digital document is also accessible through the Library and Archives Canada online catalogue, through WorldCat, and from Internet Archive).
Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives
(organization name has been updated to: The ArQuives)
''Gay Canada'': A Bibliography and Videography, 1984-2008

Index to: ''PERCEPTIONS'', the Canadian gay newsmagazine, for period 1983-2004
{{North America topic, LGBT history in LGBT history in Canada, * Canadian timelines, LGBT LGBT timelines, Canada