A Christian husband-and-wife teaching duo are taking legal action against the Renfrew County District School Board after being fired, allegedly for refusing to “celebrate and affirm LGBTQ issues.”
Matt and Nicole Alexander, longtime educators in Cobden, Ont., say they were dismissed in 2023 for their stance on gender ideology, despite what they describe as spotless records and a consistent commitment to treating all students with dignity and respect.
“They both had great performance reviews,” said John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing the Alexanders.
“Nobody has alleged—neither the school board, nor anyone from the public, nor any parent, nor any student—that either Matt or Nicole Alexander mistreated a student,” Carpay explained on the Candice Malcolm Show.
The couple’s ordeal began in late 2022, when their teenage son, Josh Alexander—who attends a different school board—publicly criticized a policy allowing biological males who identify as female to access girls’ washrooms.
Matt Alexander was suspended on April 17, 2023, from his Grade 7/8 classroom after social media posts referencing him surfaced online. He maintains that he had no public social media presence of his own at the time.
Weeks later, Nicole Alexander says she arrived at her kindergarten classroom to find a Pride poster taped to the door. She says she moved it into a cabinet before students arrived, but was called into a meeting that morning and suspended pending an investigation—one that would drag on for six months.
On Oct. 26, 2023, both Matt and Nicole were terminated. In separate dismissal letters, the school board cited their alleged failure to support the board’s “LGBTQ inclusion efforts.”
“It’s hard to describe the magnitude of what’s happened to our family,” Matt Alexander said. “After more than two decades of service, it feels like there’s no space for Christians to be Christian in the education system.”
The couple has since filed two legal complaints. One is a human rights claim against the school board, alleging discrimination based on religious beliefs. The other is a labour complaint against the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which they say failed to defend their Charter rights.
“There are currently two legal actions underway,” said constitutional lawyer Darren Leung, who is also representing the couple. “One with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and one before the Labour Relations Board.”
Leung echoed Carpay’s statement: “No one has alleged Matt or Nicole Alexander mistreated a student.”
The Renfrew County District School Board and the teachers’ union have not yet responded to media inquiries about the case.