Hey, Little Sister.
Little Sister's has been putting up resistance for 43 years now. And the recognition is finally sticking.
In Vancouver, in April 1983, Jim Deva and Bruce Smyth opened their bookshop — named after their house cat — called Little Sister’s. Jim and Bruce had moved from the Prairies to the big city of Vancouver to open a shoe and clothing store. At the last moment, though, the two of them decided that a queer bookshop on the first floor of an old house suited their way of life rather better. The word “queer” thereby opened the door to a long odyssey between books and customs.
As early as 1985, a shipment of lesbian magazines ended its journey at the Canadian Border Services Agency instead of at Little Sister’s address. In December 1986, customs officers seized no fewer than 600 books and periodicals destined for Little Sister’s. The customs authority cited alleged obscenity as the reason for holding the literature back. Which naturally raises the question of whether this was carried out in the service of the law. Because the very same book and magazine titles bound for mainstream bookshops crossed the border without a hitch. Roughly three-quarters of all shipments to Little Sister’s were systematically intercepted at the Canadian border, while pornographic literature for a heterosexual audience had no trouble at the border whatsoever. And if it did, the contents were, at most, a little borderline.
But Little Sister’s turbulent path was paved with further trouble and drama. In December 1987 and early 1988, bombs found their way into the stairwell of the bookshop. The second bomb delivery exploded barely three metres from Jim Deva and his new co-owner while they were dining in the restaurant on the ground floor. The police found it remarkable that both men survived.
Bad things in queer bookselling apparently come in threes. A third bomb exploded in January 1992. Remarkable, how lived-out homophobia feels the need to make itself heard with bombs.
Remarkably, both owners of Little Sister’s held firm and carried on undeterred.
On 7 June 1990, enough was enough with the reprisals. Deva, Smyth, and the BC Civil Liberties Association filed a constitutional challenge against the customs authority. This launched a lengthy court process that wound its way through every level of the justice system and ultimately landed before the Supreme Court of Canada. The ruling? Customs had deliberately discriminated against Little Sister’s and had violated its right to freedom of expression.
Resistance had, once again, paid off.
But for the time being, that rightful and satisfying ruling was that. Little Sister’s and its owners had no idea what would happen on 6 June of this year. Canada Post — a government organisation, just like the customs authority — honoured Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium with a postage stamp.
The remarkable adventure of a small bookshop in Vancouver has made history. The ruling in their favour brought about a change: customs authorities must now first prove the obscenity of material before a shipment may be seized.
In April 2026, Little Sister’s bookshop was taken over by a new owner.
If that isn’t a legacy worth protecting, what is
Daniel Collins, The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; Images courtesy of The Pink Triangle Press; CBC Archive Sales; FOOTAGE COURTESY OF ROGERS SPORTS & MEDIA; Footage from Little Sister’s vs Big Brother courtesy of Moving Images Distribution; Richard Banner, City of Vancouver Archives