This week, Calgary lost one of its most accomplished storytellers with the death of Harry “the Historian” Sanders. For many, Harry brought Calgary’s past to life through his writing, research, walking tours, and countless conversations about the city he knew so well. For me, his loss is also personal. Harry was a colleague, a fellow researcher, and someone I shared a love of Calgary history with.
Harry Sanders circa 1995, in the University of Calgary’s alumni magazine.
Decades ago, Harry and I worked together at the Central Library, and although I came late to the history community, Harry welcomed me with open arms. Since the Calgary Gay History Project was founded in 2012, we’ve shared historical information, compared discoveries, and helped one another track down the details that turn an interesting story into an accurate one. Harry had an extraordinary store of knowledge, but what I especially appreciated was his generosity with it.
Dozens of times over the years, Harry came across pieces of Calgary’s gay history while pursuing his own research and made a point of passing them along to me. A newspaper clipping, a name, an event, an unexpected connection—if Harry bumped into something he thought would be useful to my research, he made sure I had it. Those exchanges meant a great deal to me. They also said something fundamental about Harry: history was never something to possess or guard. It was something to share.
A tweet from Harry in 2012
That generosity extended far beyond his colleagues. Through his books, research, public appearances and walking tours, Harry had a wonderful ability to make local history engaging and accessible. Most recently, he became editor of Alberta History magazine, succeeding another legend of Alberta history, Hugh Dempsey. It was a fitting passing of the torch between two remarkable keepers of Alberta’s stories.
In a CBC memorial interview this week, Harry’s friend Bob van Wegan said his death leaves a “Harry-shaped crater” in Calgary’s historical community. Harry created an impressive body of work, but his legacy also lives on in countless smaller acts of generosity—the discoveries shared, the questions answered, the connections made, and the curiosity encouraged.
Harry was an extraordinary historian. His passion for history was inspiring. The stories he gave us will endure.
Calgary knows itself better because Harry Sanders cared so deeply. I feel fortunate to have been his colleague, and I will miss him greatly.
{We’re delighted to share this guest post from former Calgary Gay History Project volunteer Matt Gillespie, who was our Calgary correspondent on the ground in Ottawa for the launch! Thanks so much for representing us and sharing the experience, Matt! — Kevin}
The ribbon cutting, photo: Matt Gillespie
On August 21, 2026, the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument called Thunderhead was dedicated on the banks of the Ottawa River just below the National Archives and Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. This monument came about because of injustices inflicted on citizens by their own government over a period of 40-plus years—now known as The LGBT Purge. Between the 1950s and mid-1990’s, the government of Canada systematically hunted, harassed and fired 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service.
Carried out by the highest levels of government under the false pretense of national security, it was one of the largest human rights violations of any workforce in Canadian history.
Thousands of lives were devastated. It formally ended after the Government of Canada was taken to court in 1992. Later, survivors received a measure of justice when they won a class action lawsuit against the government in 2018. Funds from this settlement were used to build the monument and fund other projects across the country to remember and memorialize this event.
Many Purge survivors, including Calgary’s Nancy Miller, were in attendance. Others such as myself were invited as Purge Fund Grant recipients; in 2020, Unison Choruses Canada, which has its Head Office in the new Rainbow Room in Calgary, received funding for three choral works that tell the story of those who were victims of The Purge.
The mood at the dedication was one of relaxed celebration. On a beautiful, hot day in Ottawa, we were welcomed by Elder Claudette Commanda and serenaded by SoulBear, the Ottawa Queer Youth Choir, Calamine, and Jeremy Dutcher. In attendance were members of the queer caucus from the House of Commons and the Senate, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada, who in 2017 delivered a formal apology in the House of Commons to the Purge survivors. Speeches by Ivan Coyote, former MP Svend Robinson, Canada’s first out queer MP, Rechie Valdez, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, Michelle Douglas, the Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund, Martine Roy and Todd Ross, Co-Chairs of the LGBT Purge Fund and all purge survivors and finally Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General of Canada.
After the ceremony, many dignitaries and audience members joined an impromptu dance party at the foot of the monument, with the Governor General leading the way.
Thunderhead’s didactic panel, photo: Matt Gillespie
Canada now has a national monument that remembers our past as well as a new rallying point for the ongoing struggles of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.
Calgary’s queer history is closer than you might think. It lives in our parks and theatres, former nightclubs and community spaces—and in the stories of people who fought, organized, celebrated and created community here. This Pride season, go beyond the parade with these 10 ways to explore Calgary’s 2SLGBTQ+ history.
1. Test Your Knowledge at Queer History Trivia
Kick things off tonight at Lougheed House on August 27 with Trivia Night: The Queer History of Pride. This free, 18+ event explores queer history through the ages, with a special focus on Calgary.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and trivia begins at 7 p.m. No registration is required, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. Stand Where Calgary’s First Pride Rally Happened
Some participants wore masks or paper bags over their heads because they feared being publicly identified as gay or lesbian. Standing there today reminds us how dramatically public 2SLGBTQ+ visibility in Calgary has changed.
3. Explore Transgender History at the CIH Pride Lecture
This free public event asks us to reconsider how transgender history is written. Drawing on examples from the Sinophone Pacific, Chiang explores gender diversity while questioning whether Western ideas about “transgender” always provide the best framework for understanding experiences in other cultures.
Set between 1974 and 1980, the landmark play provides a window into gay life after Stonewall and before the AIDS crisis. Director Joey Sayer first directed the play in Calgary in 1990 at the old Forest Lawn Library theatre. For this production, historical material will help audiences better understand the queer world in which the story takes place.
5. Learn About Everett Klippert
Discover the remarkable—and troubling—story of Everett Klippert, a Calgary bus driver who became the last Canadian to be imprisoned for homosexuality.
Everett Klippert (top middle) and his brothers and father—”The Klippert Nine” baseball team.
Klippert was declared a “dangerous sexual offender” and given an indefinite prison sentence simply because he was gay. His case reached the Supreme Court of Canada and became part of the national debate that preceded the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada in 1969.
Watch the award-winning short documentary Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, which follows Calgary Gay History Project historian Kevin Allen as he investigates Klippert’s life and legacy. The film won Best Alberta Short at the 2018 Calgary International Film Festival.
6. Visit Lois Szabo Commons
Visit Lois Szabo Commons in Calgary’s Beltline and discover the story of one of the city’s pioneering 2SLGBTQ+ community builders. Szabo was one of the founders of Club Carousel, the private social club established in 1970 that became an important gathering place for Calgary’s gay community at a time when openly queer spaces were rare.
Today, the park bearing her name puts that history directly into Calgary’s landscape.
7. Read Not So Normal
Sometimes the best way to understand history is through someone who lived it.
In Not So Normal: Memoirs of a Gay Boomer, Tom Symington recalls growing up gay in postwar Calgary and navigating a society where homosexuality carried stigma, discrimination and very real legal consequences.
His memoir provides a personal window into decades of enormous change in gay life and 2SLGBTQ+ rights—and reminds us how much can change within a single lifetime.
8. Listen to Late in ’88
Put on your headphones and experience Calgary queer history as oral history with Late in ’88, the podcast created by Bronwin Parks and Elinor Svoboda.
Season Two jumps ahead to 1998 and asks what had changed for queer youth during the previous decade—and what hadn’t. They interview many special guests, including Calgary-raised musicians Tegan Quin, Rae Spoon, and historian Kevin Allen. The podcast reminds us that queer history doesn’t just happen in legislatures and courtrooms. It happens in classrooms, social circles, and the memories people carry.
Created through the Calgary Atlas Project using research from the Calgary Gay History Project, the map identifies significant gathering places, organizations, bars and sites of activism and resistance.
Use it to create your own queer history walking tour and discover the stories hiding behind familiar Calgary streets and buildings.
The book brings together stories of the people, gathering places, organizations, scandals and political struggles that shaped gay life in Calgary. It’s an ideal starting point for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the city’s 2SLGBTQ+ past.
Author Kevin Allen with the print negatives of Our Past Matters in 2018
Calgary’s queer history isn’t just something to read about. It’s something you can walk through, listen to, watch onstage and experience for yourself. Love your City; Know your City. Happy Pride!
Calgary Gay History 