Learn how 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and federal civil service were investigated, interrogated and removed from their jobs. Explore the history of Canada’s Purge and find inspiration to help create a future in which the rights of 2SLGBTQI+ people are respected.

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the Government of Canada systematically persecuted 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the public service. Known as “the Purge”, it was an attempt to remove 2SLGBTQI+ people from the workforce, justified by arguments that they presented a threat to national security. In the aftermath, courageous 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians led political and legal campaigns to ensure sexual orientation became a protected ground under Canadian human rights law. Their activism led to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’ s apology to 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians in 2017. It also led to a class action settlement in 2018 that established the LGBT Purge Fund, which has been working with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to develop an exhibition about this dark period in Canadian history.

This exhibition is currently in development. 

The pop‐up exhibition will include series of graphic and content‐based modular wall sections that are designed to be able to provide an adaptable layout for a variety of spaces. 

There will be an optional A/V wall that will feature video components and oral histories from those effected by the Purge. Requirements for the optional A/V wall will be minimal – only wireless internet and A/C power will be needed. Remote IT/AV support will be provided where needed.

Partners

Love in a Dangerous Time is delivered in partnership with the LGBT Purge Fund.

In 2016, survivors of the LGBT Purge launched a nation‐wide class action lawsuit against the Canadian government and a historic settlement was reached in June 2018. The settlement allocated between $15 and $25 million for “reconciliation and memorialization measures”. These funds, and the Love in a Dangerous Time exhibition, are a gift from LGBT Purge victims. Indeed, the funds symbolically represent compensation for the suffering of victims of the LGBT Purge who did not live long enough to be eligible to receive individual compensation under the LGBT Purge settlement. We hope that this exhibition will be a fitting tribute to their lives and legacy.