Toronto Grade 8 students stage “Land Back” protest at school “winter concert”

A Toronto District School Board Grade 8 class replaced their traditional Christmas concert with a “winter concert” focused on the controversial “Land Back” movement.

Days before Christmas, a shocking post on X revealed a Toronto District School Board Grade 8 class replaced their traditional Christmas concert with a “winter concert” focused on the controversial “Land Back” movement. Students were seen holding protest-style signs reading “It’s not your land,” “Land back,” and “Give back stolen land.”

The school identified in the post is Karen Kain School of the Arts. The full Ontario curriculum is delivered through dance, drama, visual arts, vocal music, and media arts. A video posted on Facebook by somebody associated with the school confirms that the performance took place at Karen Kain School of the Arts.

It remains unclear whether the performance was arranged by a single teacher, given the nature of the school. Karen Kain is an arts-integrated middle school where teachers work across subjects. That means teachers work across subject areas and subjects like history or literacy are often embedded and taught in an interdisciplinary fashion rather than as standalone courses.

On the school’s website, the principal’s message says that they ensure “students feel a sense of belonging” and that they support “cultural diversity.”

True North contacted principal Michelle Blackie to ask whether the concert and its political messaging were approved by school administration, and whether activist pedagogy is a regular feature of the school’s programming.

True North also tried to seek clarification with the school and the Toronto District School Board on how decisions are made regarding political messaging in school spaces and how this aligns with the school’s approach to cultural and religious observances, especially when it comes to Christian holidays like Christmas.

Neither the school nor the board responded to requests for comment by publication.

Ontario isn’t the only province where Land Back messaging appears in public school spaces. A comment in the original X post appears to show a banner reading “Land Back Not Just Land Acknowledgement” displayed inside L.A. Matheson Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia.

True North contacted both the school and the Surrey School District to confirm whether the banner was approved by school administration or the district. True North also asked if the display is connected to the curriculum and how the district distinguishes between cultural education and political activism.

Neither the school nor the district had responded by publication.