From bold acts of courage and defiance to community-building movements that inspired generations, the sites and events commemorated by Canada Post’s new four-stamp issue tell the story of Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ history.
For the second and final year of the series, the Places of Pride stamp issue shines a light on the places and events in which Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities fought for safe spaces and altered the course of human rights in Canada.
This year’s stamps represent iconic places from across the country whose impact and influence continue to be felt today:
Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium
Vancouver
In 1983, partners Bruce Smyth and Jim Deva, and friend Barb Thomas founded Little Sister’s to serve Vancouver’s local queer community. The shop, first located on Thurlow Street before moving to Davie Street, stocked queer literature, magazines and newspaper publications like The Body Politic.
“You would go in and be so thrilled to see [other] queer people,” recalls longtime manager Janine Fuller. “People came from all over the world to be there.”
But trouble arose for Little Sister’s when Canada Customs began targeting and seizing imported materials deemed obscene, including materials on queer sexual health, relationships and identities – topics vital to the community’s safety and well-being.
The community banded together and the owners held a protest rally on December 17, 1986, which garnered media attention and the support of the BC Civil Liberties Association. The result was Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium v Canada, a lengthy, years-long legal battle opposing the censorship. After many delays and interruptions, in 2000 the Supreme Court of Canada finally determined that the store’s Charter rights to equality and freedom of expression had been violated. The result, and Little Sister’s, continue to stand as a testament to the strength and resilience of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
The 1978 Metamorphosis festival
Saskatoon
Considered to be the first celebration of queer culture in Western Canada, Metamorphosis festival in Saskatoon in 1978 was a groundbreaking event that combined joy and togetherness with bravery and activism.
Held over Thanksgiving weekend and organized by local groups including the Saskatchewan Gay Coalition, the inaugural festival brought together about 200 people for four days of art and culture. Throughout the weekend there was a powerful undercurrent of change for a generation of queer folk who often felt forced to live in the shadows.
“The whole idea, really, is that we wanted to transform society,” says Lorna Boschman, an artist and a performer at that first-ever Metamorphosis. “We just weren’t going to put up with this kind of way that we are being treated. Being queer in Saskatchewan in the mid-late ‘70s, you always had to decide whether or not to reveal who you were or not. It was a constant pressure.”
The festival and celebration included dancing and live music, as well as workshops and other activities. In a defiant showing of unity and restlessness festival goers organized a march to City Hall in Saskatoon on Saturday. The inaugural Metamorphosis ended with a Thanksgiving feast the following evening.
“The transformation of a butterfly – metamorphosis – is a remarkable symbol for this festival, for the celebration, because it was what was really happening with us. There were seeds of change that we were feeling. Then we all got together and all of a sudden a transformation started to happen. The community actually expanded by coming together.”
University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, MG 355 Neil Richards Fonds, SA595-II-Box18; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, MG 355 Neil Richards Fonds, Gay rights demonstration Saskatoon and Regina 1977; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, Neil Richards Fonds, saskatoon-gayrights-1977-film1-1a; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, MG 355 Neil Richards Fonds, S-B13421; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, MG 355 Neil Richards Fonds, SA595-II-Box18; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, Neil Richards Fonds, Box 73, Metamorphosis 1987_SE249, SE250; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, Neil Richards Fonds, Box 73, Metamorphosis 1987_SE251, SE254; University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, Neil Richards Fonds, Metamorphosis 1980 photo series 2; City of Saskatoon Archives, Star Phoenix photograph collection; The Star Phoenix, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.; Stock Media provided by avgeeks / Pond5
The 519
Toronto
Located at 519 Church Street in the heart of Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village, The 519 shows what is possible when the community comes together. A community centre and vital hub, The 519 is the first City of Toronto community centre run by and for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“Every single organization that exists in the city of Toronto now that has been advocating for queer and trans inclusion, somehow had a root and a connection by using the space of The 519,” explains The 519’s executive director Maura Lawless.
Established in 1976, when overt homophobia was prominent in Toronto, The 519 provided a safe space at a time when those were extremely hard to come by.
“The 519 was the place people would come, feel connected, organized and build community,” says Lawless. “Everything from advocating for the change in legislative protections for queer and trans folks, bathhouse raids, police accountability issues, the AIDS, HIV, and AIDS activism.”
“It was a space of orbit,” says longtime activist Douglas Stewart and co-founder of Zami, Canada’s first organization for Black gay and lesbian people of Caribbean descent, which regularly met in The 519. “Once you got inside the building you had a sense of all the different possibilities and options and openings.”
The community hub remains integral today as ever. “The 519 is always evolving and making sure that our doors are open for more people,” Lawless says. “There’s been a lot of work over the last number of years… to ensure that racialized queer and Trans community members are seen and visible and helping to lead.”
Images courtesy of staff at The 519; Images courtesy of Charles Dobie; Kyle Rae, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; David Adkin, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Leif Harmsen, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Courtnay McFarlane, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Designed by Paul Aboud with photos by Lee Lyons and Chuck Groch, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Image courtesy of The Pink Triangle Press; Image courtesy of Toronto Public Library
The Turret
Halifax
Located on the top floor of a building known for its striking turret that hangs over Barrington Street in downtown Halifax, The Turret was a Gay and Lesbian club opened and operated by the Gay Alliance for Equality between 1976 and 1982.
While the club served as a dance bar, it ultimately became a key community space and one of the lone safe gathering spots for Atlantic Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ population.
“There weren’t any general gay clubs in Halifax,” says archivist and former Gay Alliance for Equality chair Robin Metcalfe. “There were some bars that would tolerate us if we weren’t acting ‘too gay’. We couldn’t hug or dance together. The Turret was a space of empowerment in the queer community.”
A centre for activism, The Turret also provided space for meetings, workshops and conferences, including the 1977 Atlantic Gay Conference. The building also housed the Alternate Bookshop, a resource for queer literature, and although The Turret’s doors were only opened for six years its legacy lives on.
“The Turret qualifies as one of the most important queer sites in Canada,” explains Metcalfe, “because it represents a moment of power and real struggle.
“It’s not just a building. It’s a place of real historical importance for our community.”
Image courtesy of Rand Gaynor; Gerald Hannon, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Images courtesy of Robin Metcalfe; Image courtesy of The Pink Triangle Press; Jim DeYoung, courtesy of Halifax Rainbow Encyclopedia; Image courtesy of the Halifax Regional Municipality; Images courtesy of Nova Scotia Archives; Halifax Municipal Archives (HMA), Pam Collins photographs, CR30K-1-3.123, CR30K-1-3.125; Halifax Municipal Archives (HMA), Bayne family photograph album, CR108-3
Product: Places of Pride 2026: Booklet of 8 Permanent™ stamps
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