The banner, on display until June 8 in Toronto, was recreated by Christopher Rouleau and is a tribute to queer activism…
Hanging in the window of The Window Gallery (558 Church Street) facing Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village is a banner reading “Canada True North Strong & Gay.” The banner is a reconstruction of a protest sign from the “We Demand March” that took place in Ottawa on August 28, 1971, and is considered Canada’s first gay march.
Christopher Rouleau, designer and founder of typography and lettering club Ligatures, found an image of the banner while doing research in The ArQuives. The photo, taken by GLAD Day Bookshop founder Jearld Moldenhauer, inspired him to recreate it as a “tribute to all of the 2SLGBTQIA+ trailblazers who have carved the path for queer community members in Canada.”
The original banner was made from an old lace blanket that had letters sewn onto it. According to Rouleau’s Instagram, he used lace as a stencil on canvas as a way to pay tribute to the original materials. Using archival records, he was able to revive the original typography and hand-painted the text using enamel paint.
The 1971 demonstration saw members of the community marching and chanting slogans like “two, four, six, eight. Gay is just as good as straight” on Parliament Hill. They held signs mostly made on cardboard that were stapled to sticks, which were quickly destroyed by the downpour that occurred that day.
While amendments to the criminal code legalized sexual relationships for the community two years prior, the group said it didn’t relieve oppressions in daily life and wanted the government to end discrimination towards queer individuals. You can watch a report from the CBC News Archives covering the march here.
Rouleau’s banner, on display until June 8, sits in front of an enlarged version of the photo that inspired him. Unlike the original banner which no longer exists, he hopes this one will “live on for future generations of queer activists.”
RELATED:
POST A COMMENT