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Second Alberta town votes to ban Pride flags, rainbow crosswalks

Barrhead residents voted this week in favour of new “neutrality” bylaw

By Mel Woods • December 3, 2024 6:13 pm EDT

A second small Alberta town just voted to ban rainbow crosswalks and Pride flags on town property.

This week, residents of Barrhead—a small town of just over 4,000 people north of Edmonton—voted in a plebiscite in favour of a so-called “neutrality bylaw” that would ban decorative and non-governmental crosswalks and flags from public property. 

Barrhead follows Westlock, Alberta, which made national headlines when its residents voted in a similar bylaw back in February.

Such votes are possible thanks to a pair of laws introduced in 2022 by then premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government. Senior editor Mel Woods breaks down why you might expect to see even more towns across Alberta following suit.

More From This Contributor

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

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Video, Power, Politics, Video, Pride, Alberta

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