The National “Pride” Flag Walk-Out Day is returning for a third year, running from Friday, May 30, to Monday, June 2. This grassroots initiative began in 2023 as a response from concerned parents across Canada who oppose increasing and unchecked gender ideology indoctrination in schools and the proliferation of sexually explicit material in school libraries and as “teacher resources”. The protest involves keeping children home on the first days of Pride Month to send a message to school officials and trustees.
The inaugural 2023 walk-out saw unexpectedly high participation, with absence rates ranging from 30% to 75% in various regions. Schools in Windsor, Ottawa, and Oakville reported significant student absences, some exceeding 60%. In total, at least seven provinces and territories were involved (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC, NB, YK).
Northwood Public School in Windsor, Ontario saw 600 out of its 800 students stay home on the first day of “2SLGBTQI+ Pride Month”. The President of the local teachers’ union admitted to the CBC that multiple Windsor-area schools had greater than 50% absence rates.
In Ottawa, two schools experienced greater than 60% absence rate, and more than 40% of the desks were empty in nine other schools. In Oakville, ON up to 30% of students in some schools stayed home in protest of schools raising the “Pride” flag.
In 2024, the momentum continued, and the campaign led to real policy discussions. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board passed a ban on the Pride flag, while similar motions were considered in York Region and Waterloo Region.
The walk-out is a growing movement of parents taking a stand against radical sexual programming and an unacceptable level of political activism in schools. Organizers hope the 2025 event will further that message and continue to pressure educational institutions to reconsider their approach.
Letter To Send in Support
If you have school-aged children, please consider keeping them home this Friday and/or Monday. As June 1st falls on the weekend, you can confirm the flag-raising date with your school’s Principal.
Further, we highly recommend emailing your school board this excellent letter, contributed by a parent in Ottawa. Whether you have school-aged children or not, our public education system needs to maintain the trust of the Canadian public and support national unity, rather than divide us. Send this letter to the Director of Education, your Trustee and your local school’s Principal.
Dear [school administrator],
As social division continues to be manifested on the streets and campuses of our country, I wanted to make a short appeal to the [school board] to be a leader in efforts to reunify our society.
With the growing number of ethnocultural and sociopolitical special interest groups looking to promote their causes, the potential for social tensions, including in the public school system, is only increasing.
Given this, the recent trend of flying special interest group flags on public and school property must end.
Flying special interest group flags, of any kind, risks dividing communities. It also violates the principle of political neutrality, a cornerstone of Canadian public institutions, including the public school system.
I would encourage the board to begin the practice of flying only the unifying Canadian and provincial flags on [school board] property.
Signed,
