The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) is deeply alarmed by the Alberta government’s recent move to impose sweeping restrictions on the content of books allowed in public school libraries, effectively banning students from accessing diverse voices and perspectives. The BCTF is calling on the United Conservatives to immediately and permanently rescind this regressive directive because students deserve the freedom to read, to question, and to grow through literature.

On July 4, 2025, Alberta’s Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides issued a ministerial order entitled “Standards for the Selection, Availability, and Access of School Library Materials,” purportedly to remove titles with sexually explicit content. However, this order threatens to remove hundreds of works by respected authors, both contemporary and historical, from the shelves of Alberta schools. Although the government was recently forced to back down as some libraries began pulling classics, the uncertainty shows that book banning policies don’t work and actually infringe on the rights of young people and their families.

“Such censorship disregards the professional expertise of teachers and teacher-librarians and erodes students’ right to read widely and think critically,” said BCTF President Carole Gordon. “Schools are meant to be places of learning, inquiry, and discovery—not zones of restriction and fear. By silencing literature that explores identity, history, and the human experience, this order risks narrowing students’ horizons and denying them the tools to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.” There have been reports from teachers saying they felt forced to hide or store away book collections as a result of this directive. These kinds of misguided and heavy-handed political policies increase workload, stress, and sow division in communities. This takes time and energy away from teaching at a time when workload pressures are their highest for teachers across all of Canada.

Both the Edmonton and Calgary school boards have expressed deep concern about the order but nonetheless are legally bound to comply. According to the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), the Edmonton Public School Board compiled an internal list of 221 novels, graphic novels, novellas, and manga from more than 90 authors that must be removed, including classics like The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and 1984 by George Orwell.

Internal government emails obtained by the IJF through freedom of information requests show that political staff within the Ministry of Education and Childcare drew on databases of books that have been banned in the United States in response to lobbying from ultra-conservative parent groups such as Moms for Liberty.

“Let's not import Trump-style tactics into our schools,” Gordon said. “Teachers across Canada know from experience that young people benefit when they have access to a wide range of age-appropriate literature that reflects both their own realities and the realities of others. Diversity in school libraries is essential to cultivating empathy, critical thinking, and democratic citizenship.”

Gordon said she fully agreed with Alberta Teachers’ Association President Jason Schilling when he said, “This ministerial order accomplishes little other than adding to teacher workload, politicizing a non-issue and targeting vulnerable students … Ultimately, it will have a chilling effect on our schools and signal to students who are coming to understand themselves that some expressions of their gender and sexual identities are shameful and should be hidden away.”

Here in British Columbia, we know there are groups organizing for this kind of attack on freedom of expression and the professionalism of teachers. They have their eyes set on the 2026 school board elections, and we will be engaging and mobilizing our members and the public to push back against divisive MAGA-style politics.