The Pride Durham movement began in 2004, in developing the town of Whitby by celebrating the first Whitby Pride event, called "Whitby Pride", organized by the Durham Pride Association .
Before we get into our own history and our story at Pride Durham, we want to educate you on how Pride Month’s history in Canada came to be through 2SLGBTQ+ rights protests held across Canada in the 1970s.
We believe that it’s an important piece of history that should never be forgotten. It’s why our organization exists today and this is the foundation to building a more inclusive future.
Toronto Bathhouse raids 1981, people protest police brutality in the streets of Toronto, ON. in the dark of the night.
Picnic in 1971, with a group of individuals sitting at Hanlan’s Point, holding a “Toronto Gay Action” poster.
Marsha P. Johnson - a true queer icon in North America. Their voice heard loud and clear in Canada.
Canada has a vast history with criminalizing homosexuality, and the fight for equal rights has not been easy.
Over the years, laws against homosexuality were implemented to criminalize anyone who identified as LGBT and was not celibate.
Bill C-150 was passed in May 1969 which decriminalized gay sex in Canada. This bill was only the first step towards equal rights and the protection of those rights.
Making a point.
A young, charismatic Pierre Trudeau, acting as Justice Minister, has introduced his controversial Omnibus bill in the House of Commons. The bill calls for massive changes to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Source: CBC Canada
How is Pride connected to protest?
Pride Month’s history is connected to the 2SLGBTQ+ rights protests held across Canada in the 1970s. The first protest march was held on August 28, 1971 in Ottawa on Parliament Hill. The march concluded with the protesters presenting a petition to the government outlining a list of ten equal rights and protections they wanted the government to enact. These protests came after years of the 2SLGBTQ+ community striving to gain equal rights.
We Demand March 1971 (Ottawa Canada)
The We Demand March of 1971 was the first recorded political action taken by queer activists in Canada. The date of this march, August 28, 1971, coincided with the second anniversary of the passing of Bill C-150 which decriminalized gay sex in Canada. Although this reform of the 1969 Criminal Code led to the decriminalization of certain homosexual acts, it did not have much of a tangible impact on the policing and surveillance of queers. In fact, the policing of sex between men actually increased following Bill C-150.
This march was significant because not only was it the first public action, but it was also the result of an emerging national network of organizations on a federal level. This organizing happened in the context of other social movements such as anti-war, student, feminist, Black Power, Indigenous rights and more.
Source: LGBTQ2+ Archives // https://arquives.ca/
Members of Gay Action Committee and supporters heading to the bus for the demonstration from Toronto
Description
Andre Ouellette and David Newcome by the bus. Linda Jain walking by. Tony Metie with his back towards the camera.
Creator Jearld Moldenhauer
Citation
Jearld Moldenhauer, “Members of Gay Action Committee and supporters heading to the bus for the demonstration from Toronto,” The ArQuives Digital Exhibitions, accessed March 26, 2021, https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/items/show/1191.
The first “official” Pride Marches were held in 1979
In August 1973, the first national Pride Week celebrations happened with events being held in several Canadian cities, including Toronto, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. The first “official” Pride Marches were held in 1979 in both Toronto and Vancouver.
A landmark victory for the 2SLGBTQ+ community
Pioneering gay activist, Jim Egan, publicly challenged a culture of rampant homophobia in the press starting in the late 1940s, when it was dangerous to speak out. In the late 1980s, Jim Egan challenged the Government of Canada to receive spousal benefits for his life partner, Jack Nesbit. Their case would ensure that sexual orientation is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms .
December 15, 1973
Homosexuality is removed as a "disorder' from the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders.
February 5, 1981 - Operation Soap
Operation Soap was a raid by the Metropolitan Toronto Police against four gay bathhouses in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Just under three hundred men were arrested. This was the largest mass arrest in Canada.
Although many gay bathhouses had previously been raided in Canada and other smaller raids followed, Operation Soap is considered a special turning point in the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Canada.
The raids and their aftermath are widely considered to be the Canadian equivalent of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.
Mass protests and rallies were held denouncing the incident. These evolved into Toronto's current Pride Week, which is now one of the world's largest gay pride festivals.
Homosexuality no longer considered a ‘disorder’.
Here in Durham Region, the first official Pride event was held in Whitby in 2004 by the Durham Pride Association.
The event was held just two years after Marc Hall, a student at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School in Oshawa, made headlines across the country by taking the Durham Catholic School Board (DCSB) to court over discrimination.
Hall took the DCSB to court after he was prevented from purchasing a ticket for himself and his boyfriend to attend the prom together on the grounds that homosexuality was incompatible with Catholic teaching. The lawsuit put Hall at the forefront of the fight for gay equality as the story became international news.
In an interview with Global News a decade after his lawsuit, Hall noted that he wasn’t someone who wanted to be the center of attention, and that he found the media swarm to be scary. The Justice involved in the court proceedings issued an injunction ordering the school to allow Hall to attend prom with his boyfriend given that the suit would likely take years. Hall attended prom with Jean-Paul Drummond.
In 2005, Hall dropped the case against the DCSB knowing that it would likely drag on for years. This experience helped Hall to become an advocate for gay equality. A documentary was produced examining his fight against the DCSB, and there was even a TV movie produced. Halls lawsuit helped shine a light on the ongoing fight for equal rights that members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community faced and continue to face.
Pride Durham Parade 2015
In 2008 Pride Durham became an incorporated not-for-profit organization.
Pride Durham became an incorporated not-for-profit organization, with an official board of directors, events, and fundraisers throughout the Region of Durham.
Durham Region Makes International News.
Marc Halls lawsuit helped shine a light on the ongoing fight for equal rights that members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community faced and continue to face.
More video resources:
Michael Rizzi
CBC
MTV
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Resources:
https://oshawamuseum.wordpress.com/2020/06/19/pride-month-in-durham/
Kennedy, John R. “10 Years Later, Marc Hall is much more than ‘the prom guy’” https://globalnews.ca/news/290335/10-years-later-marc-hall-is-much-more-than-the-prom-guy/
Pride Durham. “Our History.” https://www.pridedurham.org/history
Queer Events. “History of Canadian Pride.” https://www.queerevents.ca/canada/pride/history
The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights in Canada.” https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-rights-in-canada
The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Pride In Canada.” https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/world-pride-2014-toronto