IN-DEPTH: How Pride Month Is Inflaming the Culture War Across Canada

A sign for Emily Stowe Public School is seen with the pride flag in the background in Norwich, Ont., on May 3, 2023. The Canadian Press/Nicole Osborne

Children of all ages in schools across Canada took part in pervasive discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity during the first week of June. Such discussions inevitably arose around Pride Month events, and parents concerned about their age-appropriateness are reacting more strongly than in past years, says parental rights advocate Shannon Boschy.

“I’ve talked to people from Prince Edward Island, from Fredericton in New Brunswick, from Vancouver, Nanaimo, Kamloops, and Kelowna in British Columbia. Parents are all feeling the same thing: They’re frustrated that the school boards are not listening, that they’re shutting down parent concerns at every level and pushing this controversial ideology on the insistence that this is human rights,” Boschy told The Epoch Times.

“The only way for people to push back at this point ... is to keep kids out of school,” he said. He is organizing Canadian Parents’ Rights Day of Action on June 9, calling on parents to keep their children home from school that day.

Boschy has been active on the issue of how LGBTQ matters are discussed in schools since his daughter, who now goes by the name Andy Boschy, decided to transition in 2021.

“I love my daughter very much. I’m concerned for her physical and mental well-being,” he said. “And between the schools and the online culture in this gender ideology, she’s been convinced that I’m the enemy.”

Christian and Muslim groups have been especially vocal as schools across the country have held pride flag-raising ceremonies, pride parades, and pride fairs.

Some school boards saw higher-than-usual absences on June 1, the kickoff to Pride Month, and many parents have expressed online and to The Epoch Times that they will keep their children home during other events throughout the month.

Clash With Faith Community

A mother with a son in the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) in Aurora, Ontario, who preferred to give a pseudonym, Anna, pulled her son out of school June 1 when she heard Pride Month was being celebrated at his high school.

Participants of one of Campaign Life Coalition's several pray-ins nationwide stand outside Bishop Douglas Crosby's office in Hamilton, Ont., on June 1, 2023. Courtesy of Campaign Life Coalition

“You don’t need to raise some students by putting others down,” she told The Epoch Times, saying that she sees the Catholic faith’s view of marriage and sexuality under attack even in the Catholic school system.

National Christian group Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) led school walkouts in six provinces and one territory on June 1.

A CLC petition against pride flag-raisings at schools states that “it makes many children of Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and other faith or cultural beliefs, feel uncomfortable,” noting it’s heard from students singled out by school staff and peers for not actively participating in pride events for reasons of faith.

A teacher in Edmonton’s Londonderry Junior High School allegedly berated Muslim students for avoiding pride events.

“We believe in freedom, we believe that people can marry whoever they want. That is in the law, and if you don’t think that should be in the law, you can’t be Canadian. You don’t belong here and I mean it,” she is heard saying in an audio recording circulated online.

Edmonton Public School Board says it’s aware of the recording. “The school and Division are taking steps to address the situation,” the board told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement, adding that it could not provide further information due to privacy legislation.

“You are out to lunch if you think it’s acceptable to not show up because you think there’s some pride activities going on at school,” the teacher said. She said the school celebrated Ramadan and “it goes two ways.”

In London, Ontario, the Council of Imams issued a statement on May 31 saying “modesty” is key to their faith. It noted the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) policy of religious accommodation to allow parents to exempt their children from pride activities “without being portrayed as discriminatory or hateful.”

High Number of Absences

Several TVDSB schools experienced a high number of absences during other LGBTQ-related events in recent months, the London Free Press reported. TVDSB spokesperson Cheryl Weedmark told The Epoch Times she can’t comment on the number of absences June 1 without a freedom of information (FOI) request being filed. The Epoch Times has submitted a FOI request.

The board sent a letter to parents informing them their children can opt out of events for religious reasons, saying, “Administrators and school teams have been provided with resources to ensure that Pride Month is recognized in ways that are respectful of all cultures and identities.”

Other school boards have spoken more strongly against religious objections to pride events.

For example, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) sent all staff an email on May 31 saying students cannot opt out for religious reasons and that LGBTQ identities should be embedded in the “overall learning environment, from Kindergarten to Grade 12.”

The email was leaked by Chanel Pfahl, a former Barrie, Ontario, high school teacher who remains attentive to LGBTQ issues in schools and receives many materials from teachers and parents. OCDSB spokesperson Darcy Knoll did not reply to an Epoch Times inquiry regarding the email as of publication.

He did, however, reply to an earlier inquiry regarding absences in the board on June 1—confirming up to 60 percent absence in two of the board’s schools and about 40 percent or more in nine other schools.

Knoll said some parents indicated they didn’t want their children to attend school due to pride events, others due to the heat wave and wanting an extra long weekend ahead of the P.A. day on June 2.

Boschy said he has heard anecdotally of widespread absences in Waterloo and Windsor, Ontario, as well. Boards in those regions did not reply to Epoch Times inquiries by press time.

Pride Events in Schools

Parents have told The Epoch Times of pride events in schools across Ontario such as an evening pride fair including kids books related to LGBTQ issues, a temporary pride tattoo booth, and more.

Andrea Rama, a mother in Cambridge, Ontario, said she is considering withdrawing her children from school for the rest of the year after an email from their school spoke of love having “no age.”

It referred to a video students watched recently called “Love Has No Labels.” The email said, “Love has no race, no religion, no gender, no disability, and no age.” The video shows a variety of couples kissing, including same-sex couples, as well as pairs of children dancing together and hugging.

A Pride Month display in the hallway of one Ontario high school tells students they can choose from dozens of identities and sexual orientations, including poly-sexual and demi-girl. Pfahl posted a photo of the display. The school, Stephen Lewis Secondary School in Thornhill, Ontario, did not reply to an Epoch Times inquiry as of press deadline.

Pfahl also received a message about a “Pride Ball“ including drag performances that was to be kept hush-hush. It was to be held on June 2 at a Toronto District School Board high school. “Due to safety considerations for students, please share information about Pride Ball with students by word of mouth ONLY,” the communication to teachers says.

The board’s Gay-Straight Alliance group advertises “food and drinks after the ball” on June 2 on its website, but does not mention the ball itself. The board didn’t reply to an Epoch Times inquiry as of publication.

A school in Victoria, B.C., was set to have drag story time for children in honour of Pride Month, but cancelled. Greater Victoria School District No. 61 didn’t reply to an Epoch Times inquiry regarding the reason for its cancellation and what events would still be held.

Boschy said opposition often seems mum in B.C., though he has spoken to many concerned parents there.

“The B.C. media is unfriendly entirely to anything that would create the impression that there’s a problem,” he said.

Parents are also chilled by the legal climate there, he said. A B.C. father brought his case to court in 2018 trying to stop his 15-year-old daughter from transitioning. The court ruled against the father, warning that continued rejection of his daughter’s transition would be considered a form of family violence.

In Saskatchewan, Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) Superintendent Tom Hickey advised schools that students should not be allowed to visit a “Rainbow Tent” at a local children’s festival. About 100 people rallied outside his office to criticize him for it.

“The message recommended that class field trips not include the Rainbow Tent – From Drag Queen Storytime to Inclusive Dress up Performances at the Children’s Festival,” the GSCS said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times.

“The development of the human person and interpersonal relationships are topics that must involve families. We honour parents and caregivers as first and primary educators of their children. Families who send their children to Catholic schools have a reasonable expectation that the education their children receive is consistent with Catholic teachings and is age-appropriate.”

The board said the leaked email from Hickey to principals has been viewed by some as “hate and exclusion,” but it was never intended as such. “We acknowledge the deep hurt, and for that, we apologize.”

Boschy says opposition to pride events is often painted as “hateful,” but “this is largely about radical trans activism and gender ideology in schools. ... It really is about age appropriateness of these kinds of ideas.”

Growing Pushback

Boschy said he has seen a ramp-up in pushback against “gender ideology” in the past couple of years.

For example, he is working with a tech company that has analyzed the engagement on Twitter topics, and it shows the number of tweets in support of detransitioners has reached a practically equal level to those in support of transitioning genders. He didn’t wish to publish the tech company’s name in order to protect it from criticism, but shared some of the research with The Epoch Times.

Boschy also referred to pushback against companies that have aligned with pride events or messaging.

“We can see it from the Budweiser issue. We can see it from Target. Ford Motor Company has had an issue with pride. … they’re getting a big pushback right now, other companies as well. These things have come to the public consciousness.”

In the early days of his activism, he recalls standing in downtown Ottawa with two others as they faced a crowd of hundreds opposing them.

On June 9, a similar protest in the same spot is expected to draw hundreds—on Boschy’s side this time.

The protest, held in tandem with the walkout he is organizing, is advertised under the slogan “education not indoctrination.”

It’s being led by Chris Elston and Josh Alexander. Elston is also known as Billboard Chris for the billboard he wears on his body while appearing in various locations to speak out against “gender ideology.” Alexander is a Catholic high school student from Renfrew, Ontario, who has received much attention in recent months over censure by his school for expressing his belief that God created only two genders.

Elston was one of the two people who stood with Boschy in 2021. The other was Pfahl.

“A year and a half ago, when Chris and I and Chanel stood up against the mob, there was no one speaking out about this,” he said.

“I really reflected on the idea that, you know, one person standing up to the mob is going to get attacked by someone. A second person stands up, it shows other people they can stand up too. And when a third person stands up, it shows that there are more.”