Exhibition Brings Stories of Queer Courage and Resistance to Washington

May 27, 2025

An exhibition from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) on Canada’s LGBT Purge opens today at the Canadian Embassy Art Gallery in Washington, D.C. The pop‐up exhibition is on display during WorldPride, an annual event that promotes visibility and awareness of 2SLGBTQI+ issues on an international level.

Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge shares the harassment and firing of 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and federal public service workers from the 1950s to 1990s. This well‐documented but not well‐known piece of history became known as the LGBT Purge.

“The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as well as all of our exhibitions and programming, are grounded in the belief that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” said Isha Khan, CMHR CEO. “Our collective responsibility is to ensure those rights are protected and upheld for everyone.”

The pop‐up exhibition and a full‐scale version were developed through a partnership between the LGBT Purge Fund and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The powerful exhibition shares this painful chapter of Canada’s history while celebrating the courage and resilience of those who fought for justice, and whose activism led to lasting legal and social change.

“This exhibition shines a light on the baseless and tragic pursuit of 2SLGBTQI+ people who sought to serve their country,” said Michelle Douglas, survivor and executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund. “It reveals important lessons for today and strives to leave visitors with a sense of the resilience of those who experienced the Purge. We also hope this exhibition will give people pause and not allow history to repeat itself.”

The 500‐square‐foot pop‐up exhibition is one component of the partnership between the CMHR and the LGBT Purge Fund that also includes a full‐scale exhibition currently on display at the CMHR in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Both the pop‐up and the full exhibition will continue travelling and sharing these important stories.

The Embassy of Canada Art Gallery, located at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. in Washington, is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free of charge.

About the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is the first museum in the world solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human rights. Canada’s only national museum in Western Canada, the CMHR is situated on Treaty 1 territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the heart of the continent. Its mandate is to explore human rights in Canada and beyond, to enhance the public’s understanding of human rights, promote respect for others, and encourage reflection and dialogue. Its vision is to create a world where everyone values human rights and takes responsibility for promoting respect and dignity for all.

About the LGBT Purge

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the Government of Canada systematically investigated, harassed and fired 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service – over 9,000 of them. Now called “the LGBT Purge,” this official policy destroyed thousands of careers, did untold psychological damage and ruined lives. It was one of the longest‐running, largest‐scale violations of human rights in any workplace in Canadian history.

In 1992, a landmark legal challenge to the military’s discriminatory policies against LGBT service members formally ended the Purge. A class action lawsuit in 2018 led to justice for hundreds of Purge survivors, including a $145 million settlement and an official apology from the Government of Canada. The class action legal settlement included funds for legacy projects, including this pop‐up exhibition, to honour survivors of the Purge as well as those who did not live long enough to receive compensation.

Media contacts

Amanda Gaudes (she/her) Amanda Gaudes
Media relations specialist
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
204-299-0303
Amanda.Gaudes@humanrights.ca

NT5