Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the Government of Canada systematically investigated, harassed and fired 2SLGBTQ+ public servants, RCMP officers, and military service members. Now called the LGBT Purge, it was one of the longest-running, largest-scale violations of human rights in the workplace in Canadian history.

Through immersive installations, AI technology, and newly commissioned artworks, the exhibition fosters empathy and invites visitors to reflect on the Purge as part of a broader history of sexuality and gender in Canada. Two pop-up travelling exhibitions and a suite of educational resources further extend its reach and impact.

Love in a Dangerous Time was born following a period of institutional reckoning at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and models humility and collaboration in museum practice. It stands as a powerful act of truth-telling and national healing — redefining what inclusive and courageous storytelling can look like in Canadian public history.