{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}
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.
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.
{MG}
Calgary Gay History 