Ottawa’s LGBTTQ+ community has an interesting history unique to many other cities. Due in part to the government employee purges during the 1950s to 1990s, Ottawa’s LGBTTQ+ community was largely hidden, migratory and deeply closeted, far more so than other cities similar in size and population in North America. This talk will focus on the community that slowly emerged in Ottawa, moving from various enclaves of the city such as near and around Parliament, Elgin Street, Hull (now Gatineau) and Bank Street, where the City officially designated a “Gay Village” in 2011.

The annual Phillips Memorial Lecture honours the memory of Bob and Mary Anne Phillips, co-founders of Heritage Ottawa which began in 1967 as the Heritage Committee of “A Capital for Canadians”.

The lecture is free and there is no need to pre-register.

SPEAKER(S):
Glenn Crawford has been actively involved in the queer community for over 15 years. His proudest accomplishment was acting as chair of the Village committee from 2006 to 2012—when, among other achievements, the “We Demand” commemorative mural and Village street signs were installed along Bank Street in downtown Ottawa. Since 2016, Glenn has been the researcher and developer of the Village Legacy Project for the Bank Street BIA, creating a Web site and mobile app on the history of the LGBTTQ+ movement in Ottawa.