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Winnipeg artists design national monument recognizing the LGBT Purge
The nine-metre monument and park use thundercloud imagery and an interpretive wall to mark decades of government-led discrimination.
On Friday, August 21, 2026, Ottawa unveiled the Thunderhead monument, honoring survivors of the LGBT Purge, a systemic campaign that targeted LGBTQ2S+ federal employees for decades.
Between the 1950s and 1990s, the Canadian government investigated and expelled thousands from the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP, triggering a successful class-action lawsuit by 719 survivors in 2016.
Designed by Architects Public City, the 30-foot column features a hollowed-out thundercloud lined with mirrored tiles; the $15 million project was funded through a portion of the $145 million class-action settlement.
Michelle Douglas, Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund, called the site a 'beacon of hope,' providing space for reflection, grieving, and celebration for those impacted by historical injustice.
Opening just before Capital Pride 2026, which begins Saturday and runs through August 30, the monument stands as a permanent reminder of resilience amidst global rollbacks in LGBTQ+ rights.
People who have been victims of historical discrimination against 2ELGBTQI+ communities hope that the new national monument will be a place of learning, recollection and celebration.