Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is pushing back against critics of her government’s new school flag restrictions, insisting classrooms should be focused on education rather than ideological messaging.
“We want people to proudly display the two flags of our country. So not only the Canadian flag, but the Alberta flag,” Smith said Sunday when asked about the criticism from the Alberta Teachers Association.
“What we want to avoid is having ideological flags posted in the schools or the classrooms year-round.”
The province will start restricting political and social displays on January 4, 2027.
Under the new rules, schools must fly the Canadian and Alberta flags outside their buildings during the school year. All other displays (political, social or ideological) are to be banned.
“We just want to make sure that we don’t have ideological flags in classrooms making students feel uncomfortable when we’re supposed to be trying to create a neutral learning environment for kids,” Smith said.
