Orwell, Sir John A. Macdonald titles among books purged from Ontario school

In a shocking act, the Thames Valley District School Board has purged numerous classic works of literature, history and political thought from a school library’s shelves.

In a shocking act, the Thames Valley District School Board has purged numerous classic works of literature, history and political thought from a school library’s shelves. The board euphemistically calls the process “deselection.” Among the casualties of this radical book ban are timeless novels like 1984 and non-fiction works on Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.

A London, Ontario, secondary school binned more than 10,000 library books between January and March this year under the Thames Valley District School Board’s “inclusive libraries revitalization project,” eliminating more than half of the school’s 18,000-book collection.

H.B. Beal’s library once held one of the largest collections in the board. Today, fewer than 8,300 books remain. The estimated value of the discarded materials exceeds $180,000.

Education Minister Paul Calandra moved quickly to halt further library culls while the ministry investigates the Beal revitalization project. A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed last week that “the minister has directed that all current and future library collection reviews be paused, pending further evaluation.”

According to board documentation, the project aims “to revitalize the collections of Thames Valley schools to ensure they are culturally responsive, reflect our diverse student population, and contain accurate and up-to-date information.” The project adds that it will focus on “deselecting texts with harmful images, messaging, slurs, and racial epithets to facilitate the safety and well-being of all students.”

The board described the process as “deselection.” However, the removed titles included foundational works of literature, history and political thought.

Among the purged books were works that challenge power, authority and ideology, including George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Literary classics such as Hamlet, Macbeth and To Kill a Mockingbird were also removed, along with Wuthering Heights and multiple Harry Potter novels.

The deletions extended well beyond fiction. Removed titles included Canadian political biographies, such as those of John A. Macdonald, Cold War history books, and social commentary on residential schools, religion, family violence and sexuality. Numerous coming-of-age novels and realist works dealing with adolescence, identity and social marginalization were also culled, as were titles on book bans.

The scale of the cull became public after teacher-librarian Larry Farquharson attempted to intervene. Farquharson raised concerns internally and later documented the removals in a spreadsheet. According to a letter from his employer, which he published on his Substack, the board accused him of making “disparaging remarks.” He was later suspended and ultimately resigned after 25 years in the classroom.

Trustees say they were not informed about the mass removal of library books. Former board chair Lori-Ann Pizzolato told the London Free Press that trustees are “governance, not operational,” but said she was nonetheless “concerned” by the scope of the purge.

“I was looking at the titles — Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies. I wonder why those were removed,” she said.

Trustee Christian Sachs also told the London Free Press that she was unaware of the book removals. While she did not expect trustees to be notified of routine stock updates, she said the scale warranted disclosure. “This amount should have at least been mentioned. I saw the empty shelves. It was wild,” she said.

The Thames Valley District School Board was placed under provincial supervision last April after it was revealed that staff spent $38,000 on a three-day retreat at Toronto’s SkyDome hotel in August 2024. The province intervened following a PricewaterhouseCoopers audit that cited potential financial mismanagement.

This is not the first instance of mass book removals in Ontario. In 2023, the Peel District School Board was exposed for removing all books published before 2008 as part of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The Thames Valley District School Board did not respond to True North’s request for comment.