Gay Alliance Towards Equality (GATE) was an organization in Edmonton that provided vital political, social, and financial support to the 2SLGBTQ+ community dating back over 50 years. The Edmonton branch of GATE sprouted shortly after the original Vancouver organization, with roots in a growing movement of visible political activism after 1969.
Because there was not a GATE office in every city, the Edmonton branch filled an important niche for several communities in Alberta and in Western Canada. Services GATE provided included a phone line for peer counseling, political advocacy for human rights protections, and a social space outside of the city’s two existing gay nightclubs.
This location, the Phillips Lofts, was the home of GATE’s most iconic location and only two blocks from Club 70, the Roost, and Flashback; the main anchors of Edmonton’s 104th street “gaybourhood”.
Learn more about GATE by visiting the Edmonton Queer History Project.
