About us

Queer McGill has had many names since its first iteration and was founded in 1972.

It was GAY in the early 1970s. Further into the 1970s, the organisation’s name became Gay McGill and folks still called it Gay McGill in the 1980s, even after its official name change. In 1981, the official name became the Gays and Lesbians of McGill or GALOM. From 1992 to 1993, the group changed its name to the Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Gays of McGill or LBGM. In 1994, the name became the Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gays and Transgendereds of McGill or LBGTM. Beginning in the 1990s, the organisation adopted the name Queer McGill, which it continues to use in 2025.

GAY originally formed in 1972 out of a discussion group from the course “Biology and Social Change.” GAY was the first gay anglophone organization in Quebec and one of the first gay student groups in Canada. Although GAY/Gay McGill provided numerous community services, in the early 1970s, Gay McGill was best known for their gay parties, which at their peak in 1974 may have been the largest gay parties anywhere in the world.

All versions of Queer McGill have served as a community, resource, and advocacy center for an increasingly inclusive number of LGBTQIA+ individuals. Some of these resources have included phone lines, libraries, sex supplies, health information, and gender affirming products. Some of their community spaces have included dance parties, bar outings, potlucks, outdoor’ club retreats, office hours, book clubs, movie nights, game nights, and discussion groups for women/womyn, bisexuals, trans people, people of color, LGBT Muslims (Mithli & Me), and discussion groups on the topic of coming out and AIDS.

Since its founding as GAY, Queer McGill has championed in various capacities a number of causes, including AIDS education, getting McGill to adopt an AIDS policy, getting McGill to reverse their decision to ban off campus students from advertising they are looking for ‘gay/lesbian positive’ roommates, getting McGill’s blood drive’s ban on men who have sex with men removed, gay marriage in Canada, queer education in public schools, the fight against Bill 2, and more.