[1] In 2015, the government of Ontario, then led by Kathleen Wynne, introduced a new sex ed curriculum, updating it for the first time since 1998 and including topics such as sharing explicit content online, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recommends comprehensive sex education, as it enables young people to make informed decisions about their sexuality.
"[3] Studies have consistently shown that comprehensive sex education leads to a number of positive results, such as decreasing the rates of unintended pregnancies among teenagers.
[17] The 2015 new curriculum received polarising reactions, with critics attacking it as inappropriate and against parents' rights, while supporters argued that it was an overdue modernisation backed by evidence and that it was particularly necessary to help vulnerable minorities in Ontario, such as LGBT+ youth.
[21] Some commentators called for more resources to be invested in public health to assist schools in providing sex education, especially as some of the issues at hand can be more complex to teach.
[23] The updated curriculum received a generally positive response from public health experts, who especially commended the introduction of lessons on consent and on internet safety.
[24][25][26] The curriculum also received for introducing discussions surrounding gender and sexual diversity, especially as discrimination against the LGBT+ population remains a significant issue in Canada.
[32] The new curriculum received significant opposition among some sections of the Ontario population, especially among right-wing and conservative religious groups, leading to a number of protests.
[37] During the 2015 Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leadership election, the eventual winner Patrick Brown pledged to repeal the new curriculum.
"[46] The Thorncliffe Parents' Association, which was one of the main organisers of the protests, had made several social media posts saying that the school was allowing LGBT+ groups to indoctrinate children.
[47] Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton faced accusations of homophobia after he stated in a parliamentary debate that Wynne, the first openly gay premier of any Canadian province, was "especially disqualified" from crafting sex education policies and after he accused 2015 PC leadership election candidate Christine Elliott of wanting to build "a little pink tent.
"[48] The conservative Campaign Life Coalition attacked the new curriculum, stating that it was brought in by "the gay-activist Premier of Ontario," that it encouraged immoral sex acts, that it would normalise homosexual families, and that it would cause "serious sexual confusion in the minds of children.
[72] LGBT+ rights groups and activists in the province denounced the scrapping of the curriculum, noting that there would now be no mention of sexual orientation or gender identity in Ontario sex education and warning that it put LGBT+ youth at increased risk.
"[77] At the 2018 PC party conference, a resolution was passed calling to "remove the teaching and promotion of 'gender identity theory’ from Ontario schools and its curriculum.
[82][83] In December 2018, a number of United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs issued a notice against the government of Ontario, noting that the 1998 curriculum "lacks a number of the necessary elements of a comprehensive and non-discriminatory sexuality education programme" and that "the declarations from the Minister of Education and the Premier of Ontario seem consistent with a worrying global trend of attempts to reinforce gender stereotypes and roll back progress that has been made in achieving gender equality.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath stated that "Doug Ford's plan to plow ahead with a sex-ed curriculum that was written before Google existed not only shortchanges students — it puts their health at risk.
"[68] The move to scrap the curriculum also garnered reactions from other provinces, with Alberta Minister of Education David Eggen stating that the Ford government's changes were a "gong show.
"[85] Some commentators characterised the move to scrap the 2015 curriculum as characteristic of Ford's right-wing populism and as part of an attempt to reverse any policies that the previous, Liberal Party, government had introduced.
[86] The move also drew comparisons to American president Donald Trump, characterised as an attempt to wage right-wing culture wars in Ontario.
Mary Ellen Douglas, national organizer for the conservative group Campaign Life Coalition, stated that "We have a premier who says what he means and does what he says, and that is great.
"[94] The Grand Council of Treaty 3 also joined the legal challenge, arguing that Indigenous youth were particularly vulnerable and that the government was "perpetuating the disadvantage and risk this population already experiences.
"[95] During the hearing of the Civil Liberties Association case, documents were presented showing that the government had also considered suspending all sex ed in Ontario.
[99] Critics quickly dubbed the system a "snitch line," especially as the government threatened reprisals against those teachers, with Ford stating that "We will not tolerate anybody using our children as pawns for grandstanding and political games.
[105][106] The first results of the Ford government's online consultation were obtained by the Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request in late 2018, showing a large majority in favour of the 2015 curriculum, with only about two dozen out of 1600 responses supporting the move to scrap it.
[114][115][116] In late-2020, the Ford government introduced a bill to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to give Canada Christian College official university status.
The college, and its president Charles McVety in particular, had been among the most vocal opponents of the 2015 curriculum and had supported Ford's campaign for the Progressive Conservative leadership.
[118] In May 2021, the government announced that the “PEQAB has recommended that the institution not be granted expanded degree-granting authority or a name change at this time" and that "The minister has reviewed and accepts their recommendation.”[119]