🏳️‍🌈Canada Queer’s Firsts: Trailblazing Moments in LGBTQ+ Media🎥

Hey there, wonderful filmmaker!

Proudly a progressive country, Canada has gone through a long road to gain representation and shine a light on the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the media. From the first gay TV shows to iconic documentaries and comedy series, these milestones have shaped the nation’s cultural landscape and inspired generations. Here are some of the most fabulous “firsts” in Canadian LGBTQ+ multimedia history!

🎥First Feature to Represent Queer Identity On-Screen: À Tout Prendre (1963)

Semi-autobiographical in nature, À Tout Prendre’s quiet inclusion of same-sex desire marked a bold, early step toward authentic queer representation in Canadian cinema. It broke the silence with subtlety and introspection, laying the groundwork for future generations of LGBTQ+ filmmakers and storytellers.

🎥First English-Language Feature and First Film to Screen at Cannes Film Festival: Winter Kept Us Warm (1965)

Made by University of Toronto students and directed by David Secter, Winter Kept Us Warm was the first English Canadian film to screen at Cannes. Now recognized as a landmark in Canadian queer media history, it stood out for its honest, layered portrayal of same-sex attraction between two young men — a quiet but powerful shift in representation at a time when such stories were nearly absent from the screen.

📺First Gay TV Show: Gayblevision (1980 - 1986)

Before RuPaul’s Drag Race or Queer Eye, there was Gayblevision - Canada’s very first TV show made “for gay people by gay people.” Airing on Vancouver community cable, Gayblevision covered everything from disco nights to queer politics, giving a vibrant, unfiltered look at LGBTQ+ life in the 1980s. It was bold, it was fun, and it made history!

📺First National TV Series on LGBTQ+ Lives: Coming Out (1972)

In 1972 Toronto cable viewers were treated with Coming Out, the very first Canadian TV series dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues. This short-run, 13-episode documentary series was a trailblazer, putting queer voices and stories on screen in the earliest years of the gay rights movement.

📺First All-Queer, All-Star Sketch Comedy Show: In Thru the Out Door (1998)

A landmark Canadian comedy special created by Andy Nulman, In Thru the Out Door was billed as “network television’s first-ever all-queer, all-star sketch comedy show”. Featuring standout comedians from the Just for Laughs Queer Comics program, it was a bold celebration of queer culture and comedy on Canadian network television.

🎥First Lesbian Documentary: Forbidden Love - The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)

Mixing candid interviews with playful pulp fiction dramatizations, Forbidden Love was the first hybrid drama-documentary to shine a spotlight on Canadian lesbian history. It’s funny, moving, and a must-watch for anyone curious about the hidden lives of queer women in mid-century Canada.

📺First LGBTQ+ TV Channel: PrideVision (2001)

Launched in 2001, PrideVision (now OUTtv) was Canada’s, and one of the world’s, first 24/7 LGBTQ+ TV channels. From dramas and documentaries to talk shows and news, PrideVision brought queer content to living rooms across the nation and beyond.

🍿First Transgender Comedy Series: The Switch (2014)

The Switch made TV history as the first scripted comedy series with a transgender lead. Following a trans woman rebuilding her life in Vancouver, the show featured trans actors in trans roles, a true first for Canadian (and global) television.

Some notable mentions go to Lillies (1996), Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2015), C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005), Wildhood (2021), Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020), Sort Of (2021–2024), Something You Said Last Night (2022) and more, in the role they have played in elevating the bar for Canadian LGBTQ representation.

From disco balls to Emmy gold, these “firsts” prove that Canada’s queer media trailblazers have always been ready for their close-up. Here’s to the next chapter of fabulous, fearless storytelling!

Happy Pride Month!
The ConneKt Film Team