OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 21, 2026 /CNW/ -- Thunderhead, Canada's first ever 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument, officially opened today in Ottawa, marking a significant national moment of reflection, recognition, and hope for 2SLGBTQI+ communities in Canada.
Developed by the LGBT Purge Fund in collaboration with Canadian Heritage and the National Capital Commission (NCC), Thunderhead is a permanent public monument and gathering space that recognizes generations of discrimination faced by 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada -- including the cruelty of the historic LGBT Purge, when 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, and the public service were systematically harassed and fired. It also acknowledges the colonial roots of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, honours the resilience of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and invites Canadians to reflect on the work that remains.
The formal opening ceremony brought together LGBT Purge survivors, community leaders, Indigenous partners, families, allies, government representatives, and distinguished guests to mark the occasion. Among them was Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, who delivered remarks to celebrate the unveiling of the monument. The Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), also delivered remarks on behalf of the Government of Canada.
Located on unceded and traditional Anishinabe Algonquin Nation territory along the Kichi Sibi, or Ottawa River, Thunderhead was paid for through proceeds from the 2018 class action settlement won against the Government of Canada by survivors of the LGBT Purge.
Quotes
Martine Roy, C.M., Co-Chair, Board of Directors, LGBT Purge Fund
"For survivors, this monument is both deeply personal and profoundly public. It helps ensure that what happened is not forgotten, that those who suffered are recognized, and that younger generations understand this history and why vigilance still matters."
Todd Ross, Co-Chair, Board of Directors, LGBT Purge Fund
"Thunderhead is not only a monument to past injustice. It is also a monument to resilience, resistance, and hope. We want this place to welcome people from across Canada to learn, reflect, gather, and imagine a better future."
Michelle Douglas, Executive Director, LGBT Purge Fund
"Thunderhead stands as a permanent place for truth, learning, reflection and community. It honours those whose lives were harmed by discrimination, including during the LGBT Purge, while also creating space for future generations to gather, to remember, and to keep pushing for a more just and inclusive Canada."
About the monument
Designed by Public City Architecture with Elder Albert McLeod, and artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Thunderhead is centred around a soaring fractured column shaped by a thunderhead cloud within. In Anishinabe teachings, thunderclouds are home to the Thunderers, whose storms renew the land and make things right.
The monument includes:
- a central column lined with thousands of mirrored tiles reflecting diverse identities and lives;
- a healing circle with thirteen stones chosen by Two-Spirit and 2SLGBTQI+ Indigenous people from each province and territory;
- a medicinal garden;
- a fruit orchard reclaiming language once used in oppression;
- a tribute circle with a sugar maple for those who served Canada; and
- interpretive elements that explore the history of discrimination, resistance, activism, and change.
Thunderhead was developed with input from thousands of 2SLGBTQI+ community members and is intended as a living space for education, ceremony, reflection, protest, healing, joy, and community gathering.
Background
Between the 1950s and the mid-1990s, the Government of Canada systematically hunted, harassed, and fired over 9,000 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the federal public service. Now known as the LGBT Purge, this campaign devastated thousands of lives.
Thunderhead is part of the legacy of the 2018 LGBT Purge class action settlement and reflects the Fund's mandate to support memorialization, education, and reconciliation.
More information is available at www.thunderheadmonument.ca.
SOURCE LGBT Purge Fund
Media contact: Carrie Robinson, Crestview Strategy on behalf of the LGBT Purge Fund, 416-696-825, [email protected]
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