General public definition
- Between the 1950s and the 1990s, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed, and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice, in what came to be known as the LGBT Purge.
- The LGBT Purge affected more than 9000 Canadian citizens. In 2016, survivors of the LGBT Purge launched a nationwide class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada. The class action settlement reached in 2018 included a financial settlement of $145 million.41
Academic definition
- For more than 40 years from the 1950s, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed, and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice.41,42
- In what came to be known as the LGBT Purge, LGBT or suspected LGBT personnel were followed, interrogated, arrested, abused, and as a result, traumatized.
- The Canadian government’s LGBT Purge affected more than 9000 Canadian citizens. In 2016, survivors of the LGBT Purge launched a nationwide class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada. A settlement reached in 2018 included a financial settlement of $145 million dollars.41,42
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