1980s Timeline of LGBT history in Canada

1 1980s

1.1 1980
1.2 1981
1.3 1982
1.4 1983
1.5 1984
1.6 1985
1.7 1986
1.8 1987
1.9 1988
1.10 1989

1980s
1980

gay activist george hislop runs seat on toronto city council in 1980 municipal election. finishes third in race ward 6 on november 10.
october 31 - first time, police presence protects gay spectators , drag queens anti-gay harassment @ annual hallowe en show @ toronto s st. charles tavern.
december - @ last caretaker meeting of tecumseh, ontario s municipal council following 1980 municipal elections, outgoing reeve , unsuccessful mayoral candidate cameron frye acknowledges gay. campaign had been marked rumours frye s sexuality, including distribution of hate literature claiming frye promote gay lifestyle mayor , lead town moral decay , although frye refused address rumours sexuality during campaign.

1981

february 5: 4 bathhouses in toronto raided toronto police service in operation soap. event considered 1 of crucial turning points in canadian lgbt history, unprecedented community mobilization — regarded canadian equivalent of 1969 stonewall riots — took place protest police conduct. 1 of protest marches during mobilization recognized first toronto pride event.
february 11: part of continuing series of protests against operation soap, gay activist george hislop announces run independent protest candidate in riding of st. george in 1981 provincial election.
may 30: pisces health spa in edmonton, alberta raided city of edmonton police after lengthy undercover investigation called morality control unit. many of 56 men police arrested pleaded guilty, despite fact there no evidence suggest prostitutes working in spa, nor minors enticed enter. undercover police officers had acted patrons of pisces health spa. letter written morality control unit staff sgt. j.w. torgerson stated policemen...to associate members of gay community on equal basis worthy of note. not did associate these individuals, subjected sexual advances observing revolting acts such fellation , anal intercourse between males, (and)lastly, being recognized , treated gay person members of spa .
jim egan elected comox-strathcona regional district board.

1982

demographic , economic changes begin shift montreal s gay village rue stanley rue sainte-catherine.

1983

april 20: door gym, 1 of establishments raided in 1981, raided again. raid protested on april 23. no further bathhouse raids take place in 1980s. warrant used in raid declared invalid courts on october 3, 1984.
july 23: firebombing attack on henry morgentaler s abortion clinic in toronto results in significant damage toronto women s bookstore, 1 of canada s important venues feminist , lesbian literature.

1984

march: pink triangle press, publisher of body politic, launches local lgbt newspaper xtra! in toronto.
pink triangle services, first glbttq-specific charity, incorporated in ottawa.

1985

june: kenneth zeller murdered in toronto s high park, hate crime spurs toronto district school board, zeller s employer, implement 1 of canada s first programs combat anti-gay discrimination , violence.
in 1985 provincial election in quebec, openly gay politician maurice richard elected national assembly of quebec represent electoral district of nicolet.

1986

activist jim egan reaches retirement age. applies canada pension plan spousal benefits partner jack nesbit; when benefits denied, court case egan v. canada initiated.
november 9 - raymond blain elected montreal city council in 1986 municipal election. mistakenly credited first openly gay politician ever elected office in canada, couple of earlier openly gay candidates not reported national media @ time of elections.

1987

february: pink triangle press ceases publication of body politic.
codco, sketch comedy series cast includes openly gay greg malone , tommy sexton, debuts on cbc television. along later kids in hall, show plays prominent role in representation of lgbt characters , issues on canadian television; in addition gay characters jerome , duncan , sexton , malone renowned drag-based impersonations of celebrity women such queen elizabeth, barbara frum, barbara walters, tammy faye bakker , margaret thatcher. in 1 famous sketch, malone frum moderated debate between andy jones gay teacher had been fired job testing hiv-positive , sexton clarabelle otterhead, president of anti-gay lobby group called citizens outraged weird sex (or cows).
august 2: winnipeg holds first-ever pride, turn-out of 250 lgbt community members, supporters, , allies. inaugural pride winnipeg 1 of first pride celebrations in western canada, following vancouver in 1979 , edmonton in 1980. first participants of event wore paper bags on heads out of fear of rallying in public. event has since grown vibrant, annual festival attendance of 35,000.

1988

february 29: svend robinson becomes canada s first elected member of parliament come out gay.
the kids in hall, sketch comedy series cast includes openly gay scott thompson, debuts on cbc television. sketches such thompson s character buddy cole , ensemble sketch steps among visible representations of gay culture on canadian television during show s run.
actor , hiv/aids activist jim st. james begins appearing in nationally televised series of public service announcements on hiv/aids awareness, , subject of jim: life aids, biography june callwood.

1989

march 19: joe rose, young gay activist in montreal, stabbed death gang of teenagers targeted him having pink hair. incident later inspires educator michael whatling, had been classmate of rose s @ time of death, publish vigil joe rose, exploration of struggles faced lgbt students.
august 21: alain brosseau, straight man in ottawa, attacked gang of teenagers wrongly assumed gay, while walking home job @ château laurier. attackers chase him through major s hill park alexandra bridge, , throw him off bridge resulting in death. results in lgbt community outcry , leads formation of ottawa police service s lgbt liaison committee 2 years later.




^ fear defeated me, hislop says . toronto star, november 11, 1980.
^ reeve gauche: sad come-out . body politic, february 1981.
^ victim of hate mail loses in bid mayor . body politic, december 1980.
^ cite error: named reference hatelovetecumseh invoked never defined (see page).
^ pride history display flaunts past , xtra!, june 23, 2005.
^ why pride sex; parade, @ core, militant, activist , rebellious . ottawa citizen, august 30, 2012.
^ front page of november 13, 2010 edition of edmonton journal
^ cite error: named reference andrea invoked never defined (see page).
^ pro-choice, anti-abortions groups stage rallies @ same time in toronto . regina leader-post, august 4, 1983.
^ cite error: named reference isingthebodypolitic invoked never defined (see page).
^ alanna mitchell, welcome canada s gay high school: toronto s triangle program offers educational refuge . globe , mail, may 29, 2004.
^ elderly b.c. couple ideal test case on gay spousal rights . montreal gazette, december 29, 1994.
^ politics of coming out: society may showing more tolerance gays in public arena . gazette, march 5, 1988.
^ queens pay tribute clown prince . telegram, december 21, 2009.
^ winnipeg 1987 steinbach 2016: manitoba s first pride parades . cbc news, july 8, 2016.
^ aids crusador jim st. james . toronto star, march 28, 1990.
^ high school homos archived 2012-07-25 @ wayback machine.. link, november 17, 2009, p. 8.
^ gay-targeted murder recalled 20 years later . cbc news, august 21, 2009.