Since its doors first opened in 1983, Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium has seen a lot: the AIDS crisis, a landmark court battle with Customs Canada, and three terrorist bomb attacks—all while offering books, clothes, and intimate wellness products to queer Vancouverites. At a certain point, you have to ask how—or why—its doors have managed to stay open.
View this post on Instagram
You don’t have to look much farther than the store’s new owner, Parm Gill, to understand the answer: it’s much more than a bookstore—it’s a community service, and has been since its inception.
He first stepped foot inside Little Sister’s on Davie St. around 2012 or 2013. “There was something I wanted to figure out about myself,” he said, recalling the memory. After anxiously leaving and returning to the store a couple more times, he finally accepted help from a staff member and found what he was looking for.
Gill, who now serves as the board chair for non-profit Queer Business BC, acquired Little Sister’s in April 2026 after the previous owner, Don Wilson, passed away. He knew pretty quickly how big of an honour it would be to take the reins of an organization that had given so much to him, and use it to create opportunities for others that he wished existed when he was an up-and-coming queer entrepreneur.
“For me, my entire career has really revolved around impact,” he said. “What I like to do is get behind incredible businesses and incredible teams, either build them from the ground up or get involved with something that’s already there, and try to have an outsized impact.”
Under his leadership, Little Sister’s is refreshing its interior for events and community gatherings, bringing in new, customer-requested products, and revamping its e-commerce platform for better online access to products.
At the heart of all these changes, though, is a desire to “make sure Little Sister’s stays Little Sister’s: friendly, approachable, and community oriented.”
“I really want to renew Little Sister’s’ role as a central hub for the queer community in Vancouver and make it a lot easier for 2SLGBTQIA+ people across British Columbia to access books, clothing, and products that really affirm our identities,” said Gill.
In early June, Canada Post released a new stamp featuring Little Sister’s (including the store’s namesake cat, Little Sister). The stamp is part of the Post’s Places of Pride series, honouring “spaces and events that have shaped 2SLGBTQIA+ history in Canada,” and can be collected at Little Sister’s or any Canada Post location across the country. Given the bookstore’s decades-long commitment to serving and championing the queer community, you’d be hard-pressed to find a place more deserving of the recognition.
View this post on Instagram
“The fact is, there’s nothing quite like it,” said Gill.
