Straight talk on queer history
By Lethbridge Herald on June 27, 2025.
Tess McNaughton, right, leads a walking tour through downtown Lethbridge highlighting the city’s queer history.Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Lethbridge’s queer history is much larger and goes much deeper than 17 years of Pride, being the first city in the world to have a trans crosswalk and the first city in Canada to ban conversion therapy.
In 2023, Tess McNaughton began Queer History Walking Tours, which take place during June as a way to make history a hands-on experience for people during Pride Month.
McNaughton says they always heard rumours about places that may have been where queer events were held in the city, and she wanted to consolidate it into a tour that could be easily consumable and memorable.
They add that it’s been a great privilege to be able to share their knowledge with others.
“The history of queerness in Lethbridge is very vast and very broad and it’s something that has been here for so long.”
The information for the tour was from the “Inqueeries; 2SLGBTQ+ Histories of Southwestern Alberta” exhibit held at the Galt Museum between 2019 and 2020, curated by Aimee Benoit.
The exhibit included a lot of oral history, as being queer was criminalized in Canada until 1969.
The history tour dives deep into the queerness of Lethbridge, but also branches out to other histories such as AIDS, sex work and women’s rights.
From 1920 to about 1940, Lethbridge’s Red Light district, known as the “segregated area,” overlooked the coulees west of what is now Scenic Drive. It was known as The Point, until it burned down and was relocated to what is now 3 Avenue and 3 Street South. It was later closed down in the 1940s due to pressure from religious organizations and concerns about venereal diseases in soldiers stationed in Lethbridge during the Second World War.
In 1988, the Lethbridge AIDS Connection was created by a couple of doctors and nurses who provided psychological support and meetings for people living with AIDS, many whom were gay men.
In the early 2000s, AIDS Connection also focused on Hepatitis C support and had a needle exchange office in 2006. They also partnered with Piikani Heath Services, Blood Tribe Department of Health, Sik-Ooh-Kotoki Frienship Society, Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society and Native Women Transition House.
McNaughton notes how partnerships have been crucial in the city’s history and we should be looking back if wanting to make change moving forward.
“I think a problem with Lethbridge is we often start from the beginning instead of looking into our past and our history of people who have already started this research.”
The pro-choice movement can be dated in Lethbridge to 1973 and the creation of the Lethbridge Birth Control Information Centre. Pauline Hoskins, the director of the centre, donated two of her IUDs to the museum.
Above the old fire hall, which was built in 1890, was a gay bar known as the Red Room. The demographic of the bar was believed to be about 70 per cent gay men, 20 per cent lesbians and 10 per cent bisexual, according to an oral report from one of the DJs
The O’Reilly’s building was also a gay bar known as Bordellos and later Club Didi, which started performing queer plays in 2005.
In 2016, Lethbridge had a temporary Pride Crosswalk, which was defaced by tar, but was repainted and members of the Pronghorns watched it the night before Pride, to ensure it would not be defaced on the day of pride.
In 2022, the City created both a progressive pride flag and transgender crosswalk on 3 Avenue and 7 Street South, across from Casa. To this day there are many events held by and for the queer community, including balls, with the next one taking place in September.
The tour was the last for McNaughton, as they will be moving away to go to grad school, but will be passing the torch so queer Lethbridge history is never lost.
McNaughton adds that while much of queer history is heavy, there is so much joy to be found as well.
“Often in queer history we focus on really heave topics and we focus on deaths, which have obviously happened, but I think there’s a lot of queer joy in history.”
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