LGBT community in Thunder Bay
This was a decade of gay liberation and activism, with a strong reaction of the religious right. The seventies saw the beginnings of LGBT community development in the new city of Thunder Bay. A short-lived group formed at Lakehead University, Simpson Street was a social focus for the community, and political changes began to be discussed.
1971
July 20 -Everett Klippert is released.
August 1 - The first gay picnic in Toronto was held on Hanlan's Point. On August 28, the first major gay demonstration ever held in Canada was a rally on Parliament Hill, presenting the manifesto We Demand.
The Body Politic, a gay liberation newspaper began publishing in Toronto in November.
In the early seventies people partied at the Mona Lisa Tavern (now Golden Lantern restaurant) on Simpson St.(with occasional fights on the street outside) or at house parties.
Bars were also meeting places, for example the Fountain Room in the Prince Arthur Hotel, and the Dominion Room in the Royal Edward Hotel.
Women often met through involvement with sports teams (softball, hockey, etc.)
1973
The Northern Women's Centre was established. Find some details here.
The American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from the list of disorders (DSM)
1974
Lakehead Gay Liberation (LGL) was formed in Thunder Bay at Lakehead University, sparked by a visit by Jearld Moldenhauer (of Glad Day Bookshop fame). LGL was recognized as an official club by the Lakehead University Student Union(LUSU). In February, a live interview aired on CBQ radio. The group was short lived as most members left for Toronto that summer, and attempts to revive it in the fall were unsuccessful.
1975
The Coalition for Gay Rights in Ontario (CGRO) was founded.
The Backstreet Athletic Club opened in Thunder Bay at the Blue Hall on Simpson Street, sometime in the fall or winter 1974-1975.
1976
The Northwestern Ontario Women's Centre is incorporated.
1977
In May, a thirty-minute documentary on the gay community was aired on CBQ (CBC radio), produced by Margie Taylor.
In December, sexual orientation was included in a Human Rights Code amendment in Quebec.
1978
Canada gets a new Immigration Act. Under the act, homosexuals are removed from the list of inadmissible classes.
1979
A gay men's awareness group was started in the summer. In September, the Backstreet Auxiliary was formed as an adjunct to the Backstreet club.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) called for inclusion of sexual orientation in Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). (The change did not occur until 1996.)
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poster for 1971 gay picnic in Toronto
1971 "We Demand" demonstration in Ottawa
site of Mona Lisa Tavern
Blue Hall - home of Backstreet Athletic Club 1975-80
The Body Politic, May-June 1974 - THUNDER BAY -- This Ontario city of 100,000 people, witnessed the formation of its first gay liberation organization in January. Lakehead Gay Liberation was formed as a result of three years of effort on the part of a very small number of concerned gay people. ... Since then Lakehead Gay Liberation, although small in numbers, has received recognition as an official organization at Lakehead University and has begun to hold regular meetings. The group operates on social, educational, and political levels, but sees its primary function as that of a vehicle for the self-education of the gay community and for the re-education of a prejudiced straight community."
