LGBTQ2+ National Monument

The Dept designed and executed a multi-phase stakeholder engagement program for the LGBT Purge Fund to develop a vision and consult on a site for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument.

An LGBTQ2+ National Monument will soon be built in the National Capital Region. The monument is directed by a court order that was issued in 2018 as part of the class action lawsuit brought against the Government of Canada by survivors of the LGBT Purge. It will memorialize discrimination against LGBTQ2+ people in Canada, including those impacted by the LGBT Purge.

In collaboration with the LGBT Purge Fund, the Dept developed a stakeholder engagement strategy to create a vision for this monument. The vision will provide the foundation for the request for qualifications that Canadian Heritage will circulate to the creative community in fall 2020.

Our engagement process, engaged LGBTQ2+ people and communities as well as allies from across the country – people of all ages and diverse identities who contributed expertise in history, activism, community organizing and advocacy, law, politics, design, arts, writing and teaching. It also engaged 2-Spirit Indigenous, First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals and local Algonquin communities, Kitigan Zibi and Pikwàkanagàn.

During the in-person phases of the consultation, DWD also supported the monument’s site selection process required by the National Capital Commission. This included site visits, facilitation of feedback forms and development of a final report in support of a preferred site.

Throughout the process, DWD advised and consulted on the educational objectives and formats for the monument and an associated exhibition about the LGBT Purge being curated and hosted by the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg.

Learn more on the LGBT Purge Fund website.