OTTAWA — Canada’s long-delayed national monument to LGBT history will officially open in Ottawa on Friday, approximately one year after its inauguration was originally expected.Known as Thunderhead, the 11-metre structure commemorates discrimination against LGBT Canadians, including the federal government’s decades-long campaign to identify and expel homosexual and transgender members of the military, RCMP and public service.The formal opening will take place at 11 a.m. near the intersection of Wellington Street and Portage Bridge, beside the Ottawa River.Survivors of the LGBT Purge, community leaders, indigenous representatives, government officials and other invited guests are expected to attend.Thunderhead consists of a large column being broken apart by the shape of a thundercloud, with its interior covered in thousands of mirrored tiles.Its designers say the emerging cloud represents LGBT communities breaking barriers, while the mirrors reflect different identities and commemorate lives that ended prematurely..The surrounding public space includes a stage intended for performances and protests, a sugar maple honouring those who served Canada, a medicinal garden and a healing circle containing 13 stones selected by two-spirit and indigenous LGBT representatives from every province and territory.A fruit orchard is also included as an attempt to reclaim a slur historically directed at homosexual people.The monument is situated in a landscaped park with views toward Ottawa’s Judicial Precinct. Its official website describes the location as being on the unceded and traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation.Thunderhead was designed by Team Wreford, consisting of Public City Architecture, visual artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan and Indigenous and Two-Spirit adviser Elder Albert McLeod.“The design draws on the symbolism of a thunderhead cloud, which embodies the strength, activism and hope of 2SLGBTQI+ communities,” Canadian Heritage said.In Anishinabe teachings cited by the project, thunderclouds are home to Thunderers whose storms renew the land.The monument commemorates what has become known as the LGBT Purge, a federal campaign that began in the 1950s and continued into the 1990s.During that period, authorities investigated, harassed and dismissed thousands of people from the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and federal public service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.The federal government reached a class-action settlement with survivors in 2018. The agreement offered compensation to eligible claimants and established money for reconciliation and memorial projects.The creation of the national monument was mandated by a Federal Court order resulting from that settlement..The LGBT Purge Fund is the project’s sole funder. Canadian Heritage facilitated its development, while the National Capital Commission oversaw design development and construction.The fund says the money used to build Thunderhead would otherwise have gone to purge victims who died before they were able to make claims under the settlement.Michelle Douglas, executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund and a survivor whose legal challenge helped end the military’s discriminatory policies in 1992, previously described the monument as a legacy from people who “never received justice.”Federal briefing documents placed the project’s budget at $11,876,570 in 2023. Douglas said during the May 2024 groundbreaking ceremony that its budget was approximately $13 million.No updated final construction cost was provided in the announcements released ahead of Friday’s opening.The design was chosen after five teams were shortlisted through a national competition. LGBT Purge survivors, community organizations, indigenous advisers and members of the public were invited to provide feedback before a jury selected Thunderhead.Construction began in 2024 and the monument was initially scheduled to be ready for Ottawa’s Capital Pride celebrations in 2025.The opening was ultimately pushed back until August 21, 2026.Remarks at Friday’s ceremony are expected from Douglas and LGBT Purge Fund board co-chairs Martine Roy and Todd Ross.Governor General Louise Arbour will also participate in the inauguration, according to Rideau Hall.The monument will open one day before Ottawa’s annual Capital Pride festival begins.
