Introduction

Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights Ontario Banner ca. 1986

The Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario was an organization that utilized governmental lobbying, grassroots organization, and public education to fight for LGBTQ+ legal recognition and institutional change. ¹ In January of 1975, eleven LGBTQ+ organizations from across the province formed the coalition (then called the Coalition for Gay Rights in Ontario, or CGRO). Their first line of action was lobbying the provincial legislature to include “sexual orientation” as a protected class in the Ontario Human Rights Code. It took parliament eleven years to do so. The next major legal struggle taken on by CLGRO was relationship recognition—an issue that extended to matters like child custody, adoption, social and employment benefits, healthcare, inheritance, and property rights.

The coalition published educational materials like leaflets, books, public service announcements, and legal briefs to dispel prejudice, harmful misinformation, and common stereotypes about queer people. Additionally, CLGRO frequently held conferences across the province to promote dialogue around issues within and without LGBTQ+ communities in Ontario. After thirty-five years of lobbying, organizing, and educating, CLGRO disbanded in 2010 due to a lack of funds and dwindling membership.²

CLGRO pink and black triangle pin

CGRO Button

CLGRO Trillium Button

CGRO 10th Anniversary Matchbook

Speaking Out, Forcing Change: A Short History of CLGRO (1975-2000)

Some of the first organizations that formed the coalition in 1975 were:

University of Guelph Homophile Association
Hamilton-McMaster Homophile Association, Homophile Association of London Ontario (HALO)
Gays of Ottawa (GO)
Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT)
Dignity
Gay Alliance at York
Gay Alliance Towards Equality (GATE)
Unitarian Universalist Gay Caucus
The Body Politic
Waterloo Universities Gay Liberation Movement
Lesbian Collective of Waterloo, and Windsor Gay Unity.³

Over twenty other organizations joined the coalition in the next thirty-five years.⁴

Significant members of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario included:

Tom Warner, co-ordinator
CM Donald, chairperson and director
Nick Mulé, spokesperson
Chris Bearchell, grassroots liaison
Harold B. Desmarais, executive secretary
Deb Juby, member at large

This list is not exhaustive, nor is it intended to present the entire membership of the coalition.

This digital exhibition is a showcase of CLGRO’s largest projects and achievements. For more extensive CLGRO history not included in this exhibit, see “Speaking Out, Forcing Change: A Short History of CLGRO (1975-2000)” and the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario fonds from The ArQuives.

Group Photograph from 1993 CLGRO Steering Committee Meeting

Geoff Gibson, Chris Veldhoven, Tom Warner, Basil Girgrah, Kathleen Holland, Paul Pasanen, and Julia Lipinska at a 1993 CLGRO meeting.

Dayman, Ron. “Sexual Orientation in the Ontario Human Rights Code: A Historical Overview,” 18 January 1975 in “Event: National Gay Conference (3rd, 1975: Ottawa, ON),” MS Box National Gay Conf, Folder Can 865, Canadian Vertical Files from The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. Archives of Sexuality and Gender.↩
Mooney, Kyle. "Queer Ontario Activist Group Set to Launch." Xtra! Toronto's Gay and Lesbian News, no. 659, 28 Jan. 2010, p. 5. Archives of Sexuality and Gender↩
Coalition for Gay Rights in Ontario. The Homosexual Minority in Ontario. 1975. MS Box 61_M2001-027, Monograph Collection from The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. ↩
Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario, Project Affirmation, Systems Failure: A Report on the Experiences of Sexual Minorities in Ontario’s Heath-Care and Social-Services Systems, Toronto: CLGRO, 1997, xi. Found in TS Monograph Collection Box 43_M1998-039 from The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. ↩