The ArQuives
Learn more about this site by listening to our volunteers in the audio recording below!
Much of Toronto’s 2SLGBTQIA+ history is a story of resilience—of fighting for rights, creating spaces of belonging, and preserving a legacy that mainstream institutions too often ignore or erase. The ArQuives stands as a testament to that history.
A trailer for The ArQuives (formerly the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives) created by volunteers.
Collage made up of covers of The Body Politic, used as the main promotional graphic for the 2016 symposium, "Paper Trail: The Legacies of the Body Politic."
The origins of The ArQuives can be traced back to The Body Politic, a gay and lesbian newspaper founded in 1971. The Body Politic was a crucial space for political discourse, cultural expression, and organizing within Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. In an era when 2SLGBTQIA+ people faced systemic oppression and criminalization, openly publishing queer content was an act of defiance and an opportunity to connect the community through print culture.
The paper’s collective responded to the overwhelming amount of material being sent to the newspaper by committing to the preservation of queer histories, founding the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives in 1973 (becoming the Canadian Gay Archives in 1975).
In December 1977, the Toronto police raided The Body Politic and Canadian Gay Archives’ offices in response to a controversial article written by Gerald Hannon. The raid targeted the newspaper and its editors, and police seized several boxes of archival material during the raid. The materials were only fully returned in 1985 after 2 prolonged court battles.
Image of James Fraser, who was instrumental to the development of The ArQuives.
Ed Jackson, Joan Anderson, and Alan Miller in 1979.
The ArQuives has since become the largest independent 2SLGBTQIA+ archive in the world. For more than 52 years, it has remained dedicated to acquiring, preserving, and providing public access to materials that document 2SLGBTQIA+ lives in Canada.
Housed in a historic Victorian building in downtown Toronto, The ArQuives now holds an extensive collection of books, personal papers, photographs, organizational records, oral histories, and rare artifacts.
The office of The ArQuives at 56 Temperance St., around 1995.
The James Fraser Library in 1988, at The ArQuives' former location at 464 Yonge Street.
These records document landmark moments in Canadian queer and trans history, such as the early battles against police harassment, push for marriage equality, the HIV/AIDS crisis and ongoing fights for trans rights.
The ArQuives ensures that these histories remain visible, accessible, and part of the broader Canadian narrative.
Beyond its role as a research institution, The ArQuives is deeply connected to community engagement and education. Through exhibitions, public programming, and collaborative projects, it brings 2SLGBTQIA+ histories into the present, fostering conversations about the past while also imagining the future.
Poster for the exhibition Exposing Ourselves: Toronto's Queer Past.
Postcard for the exhibition Coming Together: A History of Community, Pride and Resistance.
Advertisement launched in preparation for The ArQuives' move to 34 Isabella St.
Poster for the Sex and the State: Their Laws, Our Lives conference held in Toronto in July 1985.
Photo from the exhibition The CLGA National Portrait Collection: A History.
Since its founding, The ArQuives has relied on the dedication of volunteers, researchers, and community members to grow and sustain its collections. Every donation of materials, every oral history recorded, and every story shared contributes to the larger mission of preserving 2SLGBTQIA+ histories for future generations.
This work is ongoing, and it depends on a collective effort—one that ensures that 2SLGBTQIA+ lives and legacies are not only remembered but also celebrated.
Visitors to The ArQuives step into a space built on decades of activism and care, a place where history is preserved, honoured and made accessible to all.
Drawing of The ArQuives (formerly the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives) at 34 Isabella St. Drawing was used for the grand opening of The ArQuives at this location.