On August 21, Canada’s new 2SLGBTQIA+ National Monument, Thunderhead, was officially inaugurated in Ottawa. PSAC-NCR Regional Executive Vice-President Ruth Lau MacDonald had the honour of attending the opening ceremony as a guest.
So, what was the Purge?
For decades, the federal government systematically targeted 2SLGBTQIA+ workers in the federal public service, Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP.
Beginning in the 1950s, people were investigated, surveilled and interrogated because of who they were or who they loved. Some lost promotions. Others lost their jobs and careers. Many were forced to hide who they were just to keep working.
And this didn’t end in some distant era. The Purge continued into the 1990s.
For federal workers, that’s important to remember. The LGBT Purge wasn’t only discrimination against a community. It was workplace discrimination carried out by the federal government against its own workers.
That history feels particularly close to home for Ruth. Before representing workers across the National Capital Region, she began her career as a student at National Defence and later worked in the federal public service:
“As a queer woman, I know that being able to show up openly as myself throughout my career is something generations before me were denied. Queer and trans workers fought hard to change that. This monument honours them, but it also reminds us that the workplaces we have today were shaped by people who stood up and demanded better.”
on August 21, 2026.
From the Purge to Thunderhead
Survivors fought back for decades. Their advocacy eventually led to a historic class action settlement, compensation for survivors and a formal federal apology in 2017.
Thunderhead is part of that legacy. Funded through the LGBT Purge settlement, the monument now gives that history a permanent home in the heart of Ottawa.
As Pride events take place across the National Capital Region and the country, that history is worth remembering. Pride can be a celebration, but its roots are in protest, resistance and the fight for equality.
Want to learn more?
Explore the LGBT Purge Fund, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ LGBT Purge resource guide, the Government of Canada, and Egale Canada to learn more about the Purge, its survivors and their fight for justice.