The four stamps, illustrated by Tim Singleton, honours influential queer spaces in Ontario, Québec, Alberta and Manitoba…
Your mail is about to get a little more colourful. Canada Post has released a series of limited-edition stamps for Pride Month titled Places of Pride. The stamp collection, illustrated by Tim Singleton and designed by Kelly Small, highlights four important 2SLGBTQIA+ spaces nationwide.
The stamps represent places that were catalysts for change, early gathering spots and those used for safety, celebration and freedom of self-expression by the community. It not only honours these institutions, but the queer individuals who had the courage to stand-up and fight for the queer rights we have today.
“Each stamp shines a light on a particular moment and location, its significance then and now, and its role in working toward equality and freedom for all,” Canada Post said in a press release.
The stamps feature lost spaces such as Calgary’s Club Carousel and Montréal’s Truxx, Toronto’s Hanlan’s Point Beach as well as a gathering that is commonly known today as the Annual International Two-Spirit Gathering. Here is a bit more about each.
Club Carousel (Calgary, Alberta):
When the basement of this former-club was first rented it was a “dirty, dingy hole,” but thanks to Lois Szabo and Jack Loenen, it flourished into a fabulous safe space for queer Calgarians. “There was nowhere else for people to get together and dance and enjoy themselves,” Szabo told Canada Post. When Club Carousel opened March 20, 1970, the police immediately tried to shut it down, but Szabo ignored them and opened the next night. In the early days, the members-only club had about 20 members, but by the time it closed in late 1970s, it had over 700.
Hanlan’s Point Beach (Toronto, Ontario)
As one of the oldest continuous queer spaces in Toronto and Canada, Hanlan’s Point has been a retreat and oasis for the queer community for decades. On August 1, 1971, the beach held what is considered Canada’s first Pride. The Gay Day Picnic was a gathering of queer people aimed at advancing queer rights and celebrating identity.
Truxx (Montréal, Québec)
On the night of October 21, 1977 and leading well into the morning, a police raid at the Truxx in Montréal gay village resulted in one of the largest mass arrests since the October Crisis of 1970, a moment of unrest caused by a series of terrorist attacks in Quebéc. Truxx was a queer sanctuary that had been regularly raided, but October 21 was the tipping point. “They entered the bar with machine guns and cameras,” says Ross Higgins, co-founder of the Quebec Gay Archives. After the raid, protests ignited with thousands of people attending. The powerful demonstrations influenced the Québec National Assembly to pass Bill 88 later that year, which amended the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
3rd North American Native Gay & Lesbian Gathering (Manitoba)
Held in the summer of 1990, this event (now known as the Annual International Two-Spirit Gathering), was where Fisher River Cree Nation member Dr. Myra Laramee had a vision in which the term Two-Spirit was derived from. It was a critical moment for queer Indigenous people and is still an event that represents queer liberation and decolonization.
You can purchase the stamps individually or in a booklet of eight stamps at select Canada Post locations or online.
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