by Karen Ardy

Created on: July 05, 2009

History of Gay Rights in Canada


On August 28, 1969 at about 1:00 am. at the Stonewall Inn located in Greenwich Village in New York City, history was made. The popular gay bar was raided by police and the brave men and women, that ordinarly would simply comply with the police, decided to fight back. A revolution had begun that - although not originating in Canada - would have profound and far-reaching effects.

Prior to 1969, homosexuality was something that was usually well hidden. Gay men and lesbians lived in fear of revealing their homosexuality and so the essence of who they truly were had to be denied. Homosexuality was considered to be a mental illness and anal intercourse was against the law. In 1964, Vancouver, British Columbia, was the birthplace of the first group organized to encourage respect for sexual minorities and to attempt to change the laws governing sexual activity. This first gay-positive organization was named ASK. They had little success and any group that had formed at this time failed within a year because of the lack of financial resources and members. This same year the first two gay magazines were published, One was the ASK Newsletter and the other was entitled "Gay" which was published in Toronto.

Things changed after the Stonewall riot. Many gays and lesbians were determined to take their rightful place in society and chose to step out of the dark and confining closets that had been their prison for so long. In the early 1970's, people began to rethink their beliefs that homosexuality was a sin or a criminal activity. This was a huge step up for the gay rights movement. Larger cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal began proclaiming Pride Day and/or Pride Week and the chant "We're here, we're queer, get used to it" rang out wherever groups of gay men and lesbians gathered to celebrate their own unique and precious lives. Smaller cities throughout Canada saw the need for support groups and call-in lines.

Homosexual behavior was legalized in Canada in 1969 and the Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, is quoted as saying: "The government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation."

But, it was the universities in Canada that made some of the most enduring changes in the gay rights movement. The University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario was one of the first universities in the entire world that chose to celebrate diversity not only for gays and lesbians but for minority ethnic and religious

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>