Another Alberta Town’s Residents Are Petitioning to Remove Rainbow Crosswalks, Pride Flags

People walk across a rainbow crosswalk in Calgary on Aug. 18, 2019. The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley

Residents of Barrhead, Alberta, are following the lead of their neighbours in nearby Westlock by launching a petition to eliminate rainbow crosswalks and Pride flags from municipal property.

The Barrhead citizens group wants local government to stay neutral and prohibit the flying of flags that do not relate to federal, provincial, or municipal governments.

“Our goal is to create a neutrality bylaw that keeps public spaces public and neutral,” organizer Ard Doornbos told The Epoch Times in an interview. “Crosswalks should remain crosswalks simply as they are described by the Alberta traffic guide guidelines.”

Mr. Doornbos said the petition was started after rainbow crosswalks were painted in the town over the last couple of years.

“There’s lots of indication that rubbed people the wrong way and created divisiveness,” he said. “That’s unnecessary.”

Council documents show that three vandalism incidents involving the crosswalk were reported after it was painted in 2023. However, council approved a second one for 2024 near Tim Horton’s and TD Bank.

Mr. Doornbos acknowledged that the town’s government was mandated to make the town look more beautiful, but he doesn’t think they’ve gone about it the right way.

“We’re thinking of stuff like snow removal in the winter, sidewalk repair, access to public buildings, parks, walkways, street lights,” he said. “There’s so many things that can make a deep impact, and something that actually makes life in town nicer for everyone.”

Barrhead Mayor Dave McKenzie told The Epoch Times in an email that the local council had no official comment.

“We have been made aware of the circulating petition,” Mr. McKenzie wrote. “We have no further information at this time.”

Mr. Doornbos said the group needs support from 10 percent of the town’s population, about 460 signatures, before the petition can be presented to council.

“We just were convicted this is the right thing to do, for the benefit of the town and even of the council members themselves,” Mr. Doornbos said.

The group will be collecting signatures throughout June, he added.

“We got some emails from residents, people that are in favour of it, people that are concerned with our approach, people that do not like it at all. So it’s a bit of a mixed response so far.”

Other Neutral Municipalities

The Barrhead group is receiving support from the Westlock citizen group about 30 minutes east which successfully petitioned its municipal government for a neutrality bylaw prohibiting rainbow crosswalks and non-governmental flags on municipal property.

The Westlock Neutrality Team started with a similar petition and presented it to council, which decided to put the issue to a vote. The Feb. 22 plebiscite saw the bylaw pass narrowly 663 to 639.

The bylaw required that an existing rainbow crosswalk between the town hall and the Westlock Legion be removed. It also stated that all crosswalks in the area must be the standard white-striped ladder pattern. Flags flown on township property are limited to those that represent the three levels of government.

Ontario’s Lakeshore municipality, near Windsor, also revised its policy in December 2023 to limit flags to those representing federal, provincial, or municipal governments.

Andrew Chen contributed to this article.