One man’s story of what it meant to be the first married gay couple in Lethbridge

Looking out at a sea of colour, Levi Cox is reminded of the struggles he’s been through.

It was only 10 years ago that he and his now ex-husband tied the knot. They were the first gay couple to ever be married in the city of Lethbridge.

“A lot of people were wondering “is that legal?”…”can you do that?”…”is that really happening here in Alberta,” said Cox.

Alberta was the last province to legalize gay marriage in Canada in July 2005.

Cox and his partner wasted no time. “We wanted to do it right away,” he added. “Because we weren’t sure if it was going to be a decision that lasted.”

However, it was not their only hurdle. They initially could not find anyone to marry them in the city.

Then after a lot of searching, they found the only person who would officiate the wedding of a gay couple. It was a dream Cox never believed could come true.

Now, a decade later, the city is more colourful than he ever imagined. “We’ve come so far, leaps and bounds,” he said.

“We used to have dances, but they were outside city limits and they were once a month, very covert. To moving our dances into the city and turning a one-day celebration that we called our pride brunch, into a week long celebration.”

The city has become so colourful now, its reached a point where the mayor now waves his rainbow flag proudly, as he plans to join in all the festivities throughout the week.

“We like people to celebrate who they are and bring something special to our city,” mayor Chris Spearman explained. “We need to welcome differences and we need to be inclusive.”

For Cox, watching the pride flag raised every year at city hall, brings perspective into how far Lethbridge has come.

“It’s just such a special moment,” he said. “I just feel so proud. I’m so proud of this community and that I get to live in it and be part of it.”