Operation Soap was a raid by the Metropolitan Toronto Police against four gay bathhouses in Toronto,Ontario,Canada,which took place on February 5,1981. Nearly three hundred men were arrested,the largest mass arrest in Canada since the 1970 October crisis,before the record was broken during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs in Edmonton,Alberta.
Downtown Edmonton is the central business district of Edmonton,Alberta. Located at the geographical centre of the city,the downtown area is bounded by 109 Street to the west,105 Avenue to the north,97 Street to the east,97 Avenue and Rossdale Road to the south,and the North Saskatchewan River to the southeast.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of the lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Canada. For a broad overview of LGBT history in Canada see LGBT history in Canada.
Donald L. Iveson is a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Edmonton from 2013 to 2021. He was first elected as mayor in the 2013 municipal election with 62% of the vote,and was re-elected in 2017 with 73.6% of the vote. Prior to serving as Mayor,Iveson was a member of Edmonton City Council from 2007 to 2013.
Richard William McIver is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-Hays in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2012. A member of the United Conservative Party (UCP),McIver is the current minister of municipal affairs.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969,gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.
The Edmonton Pride Festival is a 2SLGBTQ+ pride festival,held annually in Edmonton,Alberta,Canada.
Michael Robert Davies Connolly is a Canadian politician who was an elected member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary-Hawkwood. Upon election he became the second youngest elected MLA at the age of 21 and one of the first three openly LGBT people elected to the Alberta legislature,alongside caucus colleagues Ricardo Miranda and Estefania Cortes-Vargas.
Leela Sharon Aheer is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta,and re-elected in the 2019 Alberta general election.
Vancouver's LGBT community is centered on Davie Village. Commercial Drive has historically acted as a gayborhood for the Vancouver lesbian community. Historically,LGBT people have also gathered in the Chinatown and Gastown neighborhoods. Former establishments include Dino's Turkish Baths,a gay bathhouse on Hastings,and the city's first drag bar,BJ's,on Pender Street.
Sherry McKibben (1944–2014) was an Edmonton alderman who was elected in the 1994 by-election to replace Ward 4 alderman Judy Bethel,who was elected to the House of Commons and resigned her seat on council.
Richard Wilson is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin in the 30th Alberta Legislature. On April 30,2019,he was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Indigenous Relations. He was re-elected in the 2023 provincial election held on May 29.
Adriana LaGrange is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Red Deer-North in the 30th Alberta Legislature. Originally from Ontario,LaGrange moved to Red Deer,Alberta in 1981. LaGrange was elected on April 16,2019,and was appointed as the Minister of Education on April 30,2019. In the 2019 Alberta general election,LaGrange won her constituency with a total of 12,739 votes based on a 62.6% voter turnout in Red Deer-North. After LaGrange's re-election as an MLA in 2023,she was appointed Minister of Health.
Miranda Rosin is a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district of Banff-Kananaskis in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the United Conservative Party from 2019 to 2023.
The Pussy Palace Raid occurred on September 14,2000,when Toronto police raided a lesbian bathhouse known as the "Pussy Palace" during the "2000 Pussies" event. Two undercover female police officers attended and investigated the event prior to the raid. Five plainclothes male police officers then entered and searched the club,including private rooms. There were around 350 women in attendance at the time,many of whom were nude or semi-clad.
The 2021 Edmonton municipal election was held on October 18,2021,to elect a mayor and 12 councillors to the Edmonton city council,nine trustees to Edmonton Public Schools,and seven trustees to the Edmonton Catholic Schools. It was held in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta municipal elections.
Estefan Cortes-Vargas is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta,representing the electoral district of Strathcona-Sherwood Park as a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party. Upon election,they became one of the first three out LGBT people elected to the Alberta legislature,alongside caucus colleagues Michael Connolly and Ricardo Miranda. They were also the first openly trans,non-binary,queer MLA in Canada,as well as the first Colombian-Canadian MLA and the youngest government whip in Alberta at the age of 24,marking a series of historical firsts in Canadian politics.
The Edmonton Queer History Project (EQHP) is a community-engaged research project focused on documenting,preserving,and making visible the history of Edmonton's 2SLGBTQ+ community. One of EQHP's most prominent initiatives is a map of 27 locations around Downtown Edmonton,each with historical significance to the local 2SLGBTQ+ community,that was initially launched in March 2022. The Project also launched an interactive website,two podcasts,and regularly hosts walking tours following the EQHP downtown map to promote the city's queer history that is often absent in school curriculum and left out of public conversation.
Maureen Estella Ruth Irwin was a lesbian activist in Edmonton,Alberta who advocated for Edmonton's 2SLGBTQ+ community. Irwin was actively involved with many organizations throughout her life including the Girl Guides of Canada,the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA),Womonspace,Common Woman Books,the Canadian Diabetes Association,the Edmonton Board of Health,and the Edmonton chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
