Just in time for Pride Month, Canada Post is releasing four new stamps that celebrate four events and businesses that shaped the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and Canadian society.
The first celebrates Club Carousel, Calgary's first gay bar. It created a members-only policy so the city's gay community could meet free of harassment.
Truxx, a popular bar in Montreal's gay village, is depicted in a second stamp. In 1977, police raided the bar, sparking widespread protests. The raid and protests led to legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
Hanlan's Point Beach in Toronto was the site of the 1971 Gay Day Picnic, which is considered the first major gathering of Queer people in Canada and a precursor to Pride celebrations across the country. It's the subject of the third stamp.
The fourth one celebrates the 3rd North American Native Gay and Lesbian Gathering in 1990 near Beausejour, Manitoba. The term "Two-Spirited" was first introduced at the gathering.
The Places of Pride stamps were designed by Kelly Small of Intents and Purposes Inc., illustrated by Tim Singleton, and printed by Colour Innovations.
The stamps are now available online at canadapost.ca and in select post offices across Canada.