Reflecting on Calgary’s queer history ahead of Pride

Ahead of the Calgary Pride Parade on Sunday, a man who’s spent the last 12 years researching the community is reflecting on Calgary’s queer history.

When Calgary Pride Week first started in Central Memorial Park in 1990, it revolved around protest, with attendees fighting for acceptance, protection against discrimination, and raising awareness of the inequalities gay Calgarians faced in everyday life.

“They were protesting the fact that you could be legally discriminated against because of your sexual orientation,” explained Kevin Allen, founder and research lead at The Calgary Gay History Project. “It was also a time of AIDS in the community and lots of deaths, so there was a lot of anger and general distaste by the community at a large about gay people in their midst,

Now, he says much of Pride revolves around celebrating, accepting, and loving Calgary’s queer community.

Allen adds over the last few years, local organizations have taken some big steps towards advancing acceptance.

“Different institutions are starting to acknowledge queer history more,” he said. “For example, the City of Calgary in 2021, opened a new park in the Beltline called Lois Szabo Commons, which is named after this wonderful lesbian activist named Lois Szabo, who was one of the leaders of the first gay bars in Calgary, Club Carousel.”

He also points to the Calgary Police Service’s 2018 decision to apologize for the 2002 Goliath Bath House raid, with Chief Mark Neufeld acknowledging in 2022, the attending officers’ actions caused life-long pain and trauma and damaged the relationship between police and the gay community.

The journey to acceptance wasn’t an easy one, Allen adds.

“There’s been some barriers. In 1998, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled sexual orientation was a protected right it was the Alberta government who was really objecting and Ralph Klein, the premier at the time, wanted to use the notwithstanding clause but didn’t,” he said. ” So, Alberta had to be kicking and screaming sometimes to accept some of our rights. But, I’m happy to say we made a lot of progress.”

He says when partaking in Pride festivities, don’t forget about the people who helped advance acceptance in Calgary, like Szabo and Everett Klippert, a local bus driver in the 60s, who’s experience with discrimination played a key role in the feds’ decision to decriminalize gay sex in 1963.

Calgary Pride has been hosting events all week that will culminate with the two-day festival on Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1.

Sunday will see the parade run along 9 Avenue, from The Confluence to 5 Street SW. It runs from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

More information about Calgary Pride can be found here.