Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canadian flags should not be removed and replaced with other flags, after he was asked about a school’s decision to fly a Pride flag in place of the national flag during the month of June.
“When I’m prime minister, we will fly the Canadian flag everywhere and always. We should never take down the Canadian flag for any reason. We have to be united now more than ever,” Poilievre told reporters in Vancouver on June 19.
The question referenced a decision by Trillium Woods Elementary School in Barrie, Ont., to take down its Canadian flag in early June and replace it with a pride flag in celebration of Pride month.
Poilievre said all Canadians should be treated equally, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, “or any other irrelevant characteristic.”
“I also believe that it should be the Canadian flag at the top of Canadian flag poles,” the Tory leader said.
Poilievre also commented on a city council vote in Orillia, Ont., where a statue of French explorer Samuel de Champlain was removed following a 6-3 decision by council. The city voted to remove the statue as part of a broader review of public monuments.
Poilievre said that de Champlain, who founded Quebec City and established New France as a permanent French colony in North America in the early 1600s, is one of the “pre-confederation contributors to what would eventually become Canada.”
“Would we even have Canada without Samuel de Champlain? And they want to tear that down. It’s time to stop tearing down statues, taking down flags. It’s time to do the opposite,” Poilievre said.
In April 2025, Poilievre also called for statues of Sir John A. Macdonald to be put back up across Canada, after many were taken down in 2021 in response to protesters who say he was involved in establishing the residential school system for indigenous children.
Poilievre’s remarks come as the Liberal government has publicly emphasized support for Pride events.
Prime Minister Mark Carney participated in a Pride flag raising ceremony on June 9, where he said the Liberal government’s “commitment to ensuring safety and dignity” for all Canadians would endure after Pride month ends. The Liberals’ fall 2025 budget earmarked $7.5 million over five years for security at Pride events.
