Mother’s and Father’s Day canceled at Canadian school to ‘respect the diversity of families’
The gradual removal of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day from Canadian classrooms follows a clear ideological script with no reversal in sight.
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Mon May 18, 2026 - 9:16 am EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — It has become clear to anyone watching over the past decade that the sexual revolution is, in fact, a zero-sum game.
The latest news on this file is an elementary school in Winnipeg that has decided to eliminate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day presents in favor of family gifts, which the National Post noted is “part of a new trend among some Canadian schools downplaying or eliminating the traditional parental celebrations.”
This, of course, is in recognition of the fact that since the legal redefinition of family and marriage, there are motherless and fatherless families – not due to tragedy or family breakup, but by design.
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Sage Creek School is the latest institution to adopt the trend, with first- and second-grade teachers letting parents know before Mother’s Day of the change, which was made “to respect the diversity of families that are represented in our classroom and community.”
Some parents, predictably, have been upset by this. The Winnipeg Free Press quotedAshley Dolphin, mother of a Grade 1 student at Sage, stating: “Where is the line? What is next? At what point are you being more exclusive than inclusive?” Another mother of two said: “They should be taking parent input. These are our children’s minds they’re helping shape. Parenting is so hard … It’s just nice for the school to teach about how to appreciate someone and how to show gratitude.”
“There’s nothing inclusive about it at all, and I think it’s absolutely absurd,” former Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri told the National Post, calling the move “shaming the nuclear family.” “It’s removing one person’s rights for another person’s, instead of just adding to the conversation and saying, ‘If your mom’s not in your life, you make a card that fits best to you.’ But why should you punish a child who wants to celebrate their mother or father?”
“Schools should focus on education, structure, discipline, and preparing students for adult life, not on rebranding family traditions to satisfy ideological trends,” addedformer Winnipeg city council member Kevin Klein in the Winnipeg Sun.
Sage Creek School principal Jason Dubeau, predictably, is unapologetic. “We strive to create learning experiences where all students feel seen, respected, and included,” he told the Post. “This year, our Grade 1 and 2 teams have chosen to focus on International Day of Families on May 15. This approach reflects the diversity of family structures in our community and supports all students in participating in a way that feels safe and meaningful to them.”
“We recognize that Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are important to many families, and we continue to encourage families to celebrate these occasions in ways that are meaningful to them outside the school,” he continued. “Students may choose to create cards or crafts for their mothers through planned classroom activities connected to the International Day of Families, as well as at other appropriate times during the school day.”
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This trend has been going on for some time. South Kelowna Elementary School quietly removed Mother’s Day and Father’s Day from their calendars. La Chanterelle school in Quebec replaced them in 2023 (and received much backlash, leading to an apology). An elementary school in Mission, British Columbia, cancelled Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gift-giving back in 2017. In 2023, a Toronto school took down a signcelebrating mothers because it was “exclusionary.” In almost every instance, parents have been upset.
The truth, however, is that this is unlikely to be a “trend” so much as a permanent arrangement. The natural family is no longer at the center of society, and activists’ “heckler’s veto” ensures that when it is recognized, there are immediate objections – from the very people who insisted that redefining the family would have no social consequences.
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JONATHON
Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National Post, National Review, First Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton Spectator, Reformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.
His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
He is the author of The Culture War, Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, Patriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life Movement, Prairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.
Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.
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TAGGED AS
- Canada
- Education
- Family
- Freedom
- International Day of Families
- Jason Dubeau
- Lgbt
- michelle ferreri
- Mother's Day
- Sage Creek School
- Winnipeg
