Alberta government to delay adopting new limits on flags at schools

Alberta's government will delay incoming new rules about which flags schools can fly or display, as well as a requirement to play the Canadian national anthem weekly at schools across the province, a spokesperson says.

A press secretary for Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in an email on Wednesday that the provincial government is also postponing a change that would empower Nicolaides to name or rename public schools. That power currently rests with school trustees.

However, a statement issued by the ministry Thursday night said the government "remains committed to implementing the legislative and regulatory changes under An Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from Classrooms and Amend the Education Act, 2026."

"We are taking a thoughtful and measured approach to implementation to ensure these changes are introduced effectively and that education partners have the support they need to successfully transition to the new requirements," the statement reads. "We will continue to engage with stakeholders, communicate updated timelines and provide the resources and guidance necessary to support implementation."

Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling says he hopes the government takes additional time to broadly consult the public and that it will choose to take a more inclusive approach to displaying flags.

He said teachers are concerned about the implications of an incoming law that permits only Canadian and Alberta flags on school grounds.

“The biggest question was around the Pride flag, the Métis flag, the francophone flags,” Schilling said. “Can we still have these in our classrooms?”

The changes were to take effect on Sept. 1 to coincide with the start of a new school year. They’re part of an omnibus education bill the legislature approved in the spring.

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The bill follows a demand from the ruling United Conservative Party’s grassroots members to outlaw flags other than Canadian and Alberta flags at public buildings.

Nicolaides has said the province — where francophones have a constitutional right to education in French — will also allow schools to fly the Franco-Albertan flag.

The legislation includes numerous other changes, which an email sent to educational groups on Wednesday said will take effect Sept. 1. The changes include introducing a new student code of conduct disallowing violence in schools, giving the minister the power to approve superintendents’ contracts, allowing the minister to set school boards’ priorities, moving provincial exams to digital formats, requiring lessons to include a variety of perspectives and allowing the province to reassign unused school properties, among others.

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