It was always understood that Northstar was gay from day one...as far as I know he was Marvel's first gay hero. It really was not a big deal back when Alpha Flight first came out.
Stan Lee has said that Percy Pinkerton from “ Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos” was gay, but he said he did it because it would be “colorful” to put an effeminate guy in this ultra-tough special forces unit, and he never had it in mind to “promote gayness.” Pinkerton joined the team sometime in the mid-Sixties.