National LGBTQ+ monument unveiled in Ottawa

Canada’s new national monument recognizing historic discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community officially opened on Friday.

Thunderhead, located near the Portage Bridge and Wellington Street, commemorates victims of the LGBT Purge, a decades-long practice in which thousands of members of the federal public service , Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP were investigated, harassed or pushed from their jobs because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The monument was paid for by the LGBT Purge Fund following a $145-million class-action settlement involving 719 people who had been targeted by the federal government because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The settlement set aside $15 million for the monument and other memorialization projects.

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Gov.-Gen. Louise Arbour was on hand for the opening ceremony and said the monument paid tribute to survivors who helped end discriminatory government policies.

“The image of the thundercloud is particularly evocative in capturing the harm caused by the LGBT Purge,” she said. “A storm cloud, dark like the suffering endured.”

Thunderhead is a large white structure shaped around the image of a storm cloud, with cloud-like openings cut into its walls. Inside, small mirrored tiles catch the sunlight and create shifting reflections, while flickering lights are meant to resemble lightning.

The monument is surrounded by a park designed as a place for both reflection and gathering. A winding path leads to a wall telling the history of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in Canada, while a nearby healing circle features 13 stones selected by two-spirit Indigenous elders from each province and territory.