Two teachers build careers serving their community
Matt and Nicole Alexander of Cobden, Ontario, built their careers around educating and supporting students in their community.
Matt taught Grades 7 and 8, while Nicole taught kindergarten. Both maintained unblemished disciplinary records throughout their teaching careers.
The Alexanders are Christians whose religious beliefs include traditional views about sexuality and gender. They maintained that they treated every student with dignity and respect, regardless of differences in beliefs or identity.
In 2023, however, both lost their jobs with the Renfrew County District School Board after declining to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ issues that conflicted with their sincerely held Christian beliefs.
“It’s hard to describe the magnitude of what’s happened in our family,” said Matt Alexander. “After dedicating more than two decades to my students and school, it seems to me there is no room for Christians to be Christian in the education system.”
Controversy surrounding their son reaches the family
The conflict began in late 2022, when the Alexanders’ teenage son, Josh Alexander, publicly challenged a policy at his own school that allowed biological males who identified as female to use girls’ washrooms.
Although Josh attended a school operated by a different school board, the controversy surrounding his actions soon affected his parents.
On April 17, 2023, the Renfrew County District School Board suspended Matt from his Grades 7 and 8 teaching position in connection with social media posts made about him. Matt did not have any public social media accounts at the time.
Weeks later, on May 5, Nicole arrived at her kindergarten classroom and found a Pride poster taped to her door without her knowledge or consent. Before her students arrived, she placed the poster inside a classroom cabinet.
Later that morning, her principal called her into a meeting and suspended her. The school board investigated her for the next six months.
On October 26, 2023, the school board terminated both Matt and Nicole “for not celebrating and affirming LGBTQ issues.”
The Alexanders maintained that the school board punished them for acting according to their religious beliefs, violating their freedom of conscience and religion protected by section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“We’ve been financially devastated, but we won’t back down,” Matt said.
“We sold our family home rather than lose it, and the pension we paid into for over 20 years has been decimated. It put a black mark on us, effectively ending our careers in public education. Retraining for new careers has been necessary,” Nicole explained.
Teachers turn to their union for help
After losing their jobs, the Alexanders sought help from their union, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
They alleged that the union refused to pursue grievances that would defend their freedom of conscience and religion protected by section 2(a) of the Charter.
Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre pursued two legal avenues on behalf of the Alexanders.
They brought a human rights complaint against the Renfrew County District School Board alleging discrimination based on the Alexanders’ religious beliefs.
They also brought a complaint before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, alleging that ETFO failed in its legal duty to fairly represent the Alexanders after they lost their jobs.
Labour Board allows complaint against union to proceed
ETFO and the Renfrew County District School Board attempted to have the Labour Board complaint dismissed before it received a full hearing.
On September 8, 2025, the Ontario Labour Relations Board rejected those attempts and allowed the Alexanders’ complaint to proceed.
“We are pleased that the Board has rejected the attempt to shut this case down at the preliminary stage,” said constitutional lawyer Darren Leung. “The Alexanders deserve the opportunity to have their concerns fully heard, and today’s decision ensures that will happen.”
The ruling gave the Alexanders the opportunity to make their case that their union had failed to fairly represent them.
Teachers argue unions must protect fundamental freedoms
Lawyers funded by the Justice Centre appeared before the Ontario Labour Relations Board on December 8, 2025, February 23, 2026, and May 21, 2026.
They argued that ETFO failed in its duty to fairly represent the Alexanders after they were terminated.
The case raised a broader question for unionized public-sector workers: when a union has exclusive control over whether an employee’s grievance moves forward, what responsibility does it have to defend members whose religious beliefs conflict with the views of their employer?
“Because so many Canadians work in unionized public-sector jobs, the protection of Charter rights in the workplace is critical,” said constitutional lawyer Darren Leung. “When unions have exclusive control over whether those rights are defended, they must be held accountable for ensuring their members’ fundamental freedoms are properly protected.”
Matt Alexander said, “Discrimination against those with traditional values continues to be pervasive in the job market. The choice to stand on truth has most definitely resulted in financial hardship and changed the trajectory of our lives.”
Labour Board considers the Alexanders’ case
Following the hearings, the Ontario Labour Relations Board reserved its decision.
The Alexanders awaited a decision on whether ETFO failed in its duty to fairly represent them after they lost the teaching careers they had built over more than two decades.
