Hamilton Mayor Orders Billboard Opposing Medical Gender Transition for Minors Taken Down

Group behind the billboard says decision violates Charter rights, will challenge order

Andrea Horwath speaks to the media at a press conference in Toronto on May 30, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Hamilton, Ont., Mayor Andrea Horwath has ordered the removal of a billboard that featured a message opposing medical transition for minors, calling it “transphobic.” Meanwhile, the group behind the billboard says the decision violates Charter rights, and that it will launch a legal challenge against the order.

The billboard displays the text “LetKidsBe.ca.” Below the text is the message, “Stop medical transitions for minors.” It was paid for by Christian political advocacy group Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) as part of its “LetKidsBe.ca” campaign, which included similar ads on buses in London, Ont., earlier this year.

Horwath, a former leader of the Ontario NDP, said in an Aug. 8 statement that while the billboard, located on Lincoln Alexander Parkway, was not city-owned, it was on city-leased space. She said that “city advertising rules were not followed,” and directed Astral Media, the company in charge of the billboard space, to remove it.

She said that “hate-related incidents” were on the rise in her city, and that members of the LGBT+ community were “among the most frequently targeted.”

“We are also a community that will not stand by when confronted by hate - I certainly will not,” Horwath said.

ARPA Canada legal counsel John Sikkema said in a statement that the message of the billboard was about “safeguarding vulnerable youth,” and that the mayor’s move to remove the sign was “troubling.”

“The fact that the Mayor used her platform to mischaracterize our message, rather than engage with the facts, is troubling,“ he said. ”We invite her—and all Canadians—to consider the evidence, listen to those harmed by these interventions, and put the well-being of children first.”

ARPA said the billboard message “reflects growing concern” from parents and medical experts over the “serious, lifelong consequences” of gender transition procedures for children. 

ARPA executive director Mike Schouten told The Epoch Times in an interview that a similar message had been included in the bus campaign in London earlier this year, and that counter advertisements had been run by a transgender activist group in that city, sparking a public conversation.

“There certainly was public discussion about it, but there were no attempts made by the City of London or the transit company there to take the ad down,” he said.

He said the city’s move to remove the billboard violated the Charter right to freedom of expression, and the organization would file a legal challenge in response.

Schouten noted that other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and Alberta, have restricted gender transition procedures for minors and that many Canadians disagree with the procedures for children. A Leger survey conducted in February 2024 found that nearly half of Canadians support a ban on gender transition procedures for minors under age 17.

“Ultimately, this is about kids who experience gender dysphoria, and how do we love them best. The current practices in our country are not loving them best,” Schouten said.

The ad was part of a national campaign and was jointly sponsored by three ARPA chapters in Southern Ontario. ARPA said the billboard campaign had been funded through local donations and volunteer efforts. It had been up for five days into what was expected to be a four-week campaign.

Alberta is the only Canadian province that has passed legislation to prohibit gender transition procedures for those under 18 years of age. The Health Statutes Amendment Act, passed in December 2024, also prevents the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for those 15 years and under.