AGQ-F0155

Fonds Coalition nationale pour les droits des homosexuels (CNDH). – 1975-[1980]. – 18.5 cm of textual records and 4 posters.

 

 

 

Administrative history:

 

Between 28 June and 1 July 1975, an interprovincial conference was held in Canada at the University of Ottawa, and it was during this event that the Coalition nationale pour les droits des homosexuels (in English, National Gay Rights Coalition) was formed. At its founding, the Coalition had 27 member groups across Canada that were committed to defending gay rights. They wanted to focus primarily on civil rights and national legislation, specifically on the repeal of discriminatory laws, the formulation of civil rights, and the addition of the term ‘sexual orientation’ to civil rights charters. For example, the Coalition worked hard to repeal the law prohibiting the immigration of homosexuals to Canada by putting pressure on the federal government.

 

The Coalition also had a mandate to serve as an intermediary between the Canadian gay liberation movement and the international movement. It therefore maintained numerous relationships with several countries and also participated in the founding of the International Gay Association in August 1978 in England. In addition to participating in annual conferences, the Coalition was involved in numerous causes, such as that of John Damien (a young man who was fired from his job because of his homosexuality), organizing a fundraising campaign and a day of protest. The Coalition was also involved in the Radio-Canada case and its refusal to broadcast public service announcements if they were made by homosexuals. The organization’s first Canada-wide demonstration took place in February 1977 to protest Radio-Canada’s policy.

 

In the summer of 1977, the Coalition decided to regionalize the organization, meaning that five regions of Canada would have their own coordinating office. In Quebec, the Association pour les droits des gai(e)s du Québec (Quebec Gay Rights Association) volunteered to take on this role.

 

The Coalition had its own publication called Forum. Publication of this newsletter began in the spring of 1976 and ended after the 7th annual conference in 1979, as the Association pour les droits de la communauté gaie du Québec no longer wished to publish it.

 

In 1978, the CDNH changed its name to the Coalition canadienne pour les droits des lesbiennes et des gais (in English, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights Coalition). The name change was intended to be more inclusive of lesbians and to remove the ambiguity that the term ‘national’ could cause at the time. In 1980, the Coalition’s financial situation became more precarious. In just one year, the organization went from 46 member groups to 21, and none of those 21 groups were French-speaking Quebecois or lesbian groups. In the summer of 1980, after a vote at its 8th annual conference, the Coalition ceased operations.

 

 

Scope and content:

 

The fonds documents the life and activities of the Coalition nationale pour les droits des homosexuels, primarily focusing on annual conferences (from the 4th to the 7th conference) and the Coalition’s participation in them, the production and distribution of its newsletter Forum, and the Coalition’s priorities as expressed in documents.

 

The fonds mainly contains correspondence with the Association pour les Droits des Gai(e)s du Québec (Quebec Gay Rights Association) and some of its members (e.g. Ron Dayman), an unsigned petition, leaflets, brochures, a few press clippings, a leaflet, the programs and schedules of annual conferences and texts of the lectures presented there, annual reports, lists of CNDH member organizations, correspondence concerning the subscription and publication of the Forum newsletter, copies of the newsletter and blank subscription forms. The fonds also includes four promotional posters for the annual conferences.

 

The fonds contains the following files:

 

  • AGQ-F0155/D01. CNDH – Structure et programme
  • AGQ-F0155/D02. CNDH et ADGQ – Correspondances et autres documents
  • AGQ-F0155/D03. CNDH – Listes des groupes membres
  • AGQ-F0155/D04. CNDH – Dépliants et tract
  • AGQ-F0155/D05. CNDH – Production et abonnements au bulletin Forum
  • AGQ-F0155/D06. CNDH – Exemplaires du bulletin Forum
  • AGQ-F0155/D07. CNDH – 3e congrès annuel
  • AGQ-F0155/D08. CNDH – 4e congrès annuel
  • AGQ-F0155/D09. CNDH – 5e congrès annuel
  • AGQ-F0155/D010. CNDH – 6e congrès annuel
  • AGQ-F0155/D11. CNDH – 7e congrès annuel « Célébration 79 »

 

 

Notes:

 

Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

 

Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was transferred to the AGQ in January 1989 through Jacques Sigouin and Louis Girard (acquisition 1989-01).

 

Arrangement: The National Coalition for Gay Rights fonds was extracted from the AGQ-F0017 Association pour les Droits des Gai(e)s du Québec (ADGQ) fonds. The classification already established by the organization for conferences has been retained, but some files have been created for consistency and logical reasons (D01 to D06).

 

Language: Most of the documents are in French and English. A few are in Portuguese, Spanish and German.

 

Associated material: The ArQuives, located in Toronto, Ontario, hold documents from or about the CNDH in some of its fonds and collections. These items are scattered throughout the collection, so no single fonds deals specifically with the Coalition. However, several can be found in the F0039 Gays of Ottawa fonds (the series entitled National Gay Rights Coalition) and the F0002 The Body Politic fonds. The documents date from 1974 to 1980.

 

Related groups of records in different fonds external to the unit being described:

 

The AGQ-F0001 Groupe Homosexuel d’Action Politique (GHAP) fonds of the AGQ contains textual documents relating to the CNDH in file S2/D14. The documents date from approximately October 1975.

 

The AGQ-F0009 Groupe Gai de l’Université Laval (GGUL) collection of the AGQ contains textual documents about the CNDH in file S3/D14. The documents date from before 28 June 1978 to before 30 June 1979.

 

Finding aids: Digital inventory of the fonds in Excel format.

 

 

Bibliography:

 

Mcleod, D. W. (2017). Lesbian and gay liberation in Canada. Toronto, Ontario: Homewood Books.

 

Sylvestre, P.-F. (1995). Les homosexuels s’organisent. Montréal, Québec : Éditions Homeureux.

 

 

 

 

 

Dernière modification : 2025-12-10