NicoAn update, because June was busier than expected! Queer Canada will be continuing on a more sustainable schedule. I’m travelling across Canada for community consultations, and I have two new exciting archival projects to share.
Update for July 2026
About the Author: Nico
Nico Mara-McKay (they/iel) is a historian, writer, editor, and occasional curator whose work focuses on histories of gender and sexuality through lenses of embodiment and identity. They write about queer and trans history, culture, and community at nicomaramckay.com and ephemeralrecord.com, and share updates on Bluesky @nicomaramckay.com.
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Rainbow Senior’s Pride 2026
Tabelling for The ArQuives at Rainbow Senior’s Pride, which was held at the Rekai Centre in Toronto on Saturday, 13 June 2026.
The First Pride
Two years after the partial decriminalization of homosexuality, hundreds of queer Canadians gathered at Hanlan's Point. What began as a picnic became part of the foundation of Pride in Canada.
Partial Decriminalization
The 1969 partial decriminalization of homosexuality was not liberation. It was a partial reform that exposed the limits of Canadian tolerance, but it did create a political opening for a new generation of activists to demand more.