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By Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press

Provincial Politics

Alberta school boards remove dozens of books as new provincial rules in effect

Jan 6, 2026 | 3:36 PM

Alberta’s two biggest school divisions say dozens of library books have been taken off the shelves as the province’s ban on sexually explicit material officially took effect this week.

The Edmonton Public School Division says it has removed 34 titles in order to comply, though it doesn’t plan to share the list with the public.

The division says the list isn’t exhaustive and that titles can be added or removed as seen fit.

The Calgary Board of Education says it removed 44 titles from school libraries, but it also won’t be sharing a list.

The new provincial policy was first announced in the fall and requires schools to remove books containing explicit images or illustrations of sexual content.

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The policy initially included books with written descriptions of sexual content, but the province softened the rules after Edmonton Public said it would need to remove classic titles in order to comply, including Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2026.