Muslim niqabs and Sikh turbans at risk under Canada’s new Quebec school policy

Millat Times Desk

03 November 2026 (Publish: 06:40 AM IST)

0

Canada’s Quebec province is preparing to ban students in elementary schools from wearing visible religious attire, including Sikh turbans and Muslim niqabs, in a move that could further restrict religious expression in public institutions.

The proposed ban is expected to particularly affect Sikh, Muslim and Jewish communities.

The separatist Parti Québécois (PQ), which came to power following the provincial election in October, had included a ban on religious symbols worn by schoolchildren in its election manifesto.

“We were elected on this base, and it’s on this base that we are going to work,” Quebec Education Minister Joël Arseneau was quoted as saying by the Montreal Gazette.

In September, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, now Quebec’s Premier, defended the proposed restrictions, arguing that schools already have rules that students are expected to follow.

“It’s accepted that when you send your child to school, there are rules. The vast majority of people will understand that a religious symbol can be removed,” he said.

The proposed ban comes amid a series of measures introduced by successive Quebec governments to restrict religious expression in public spaces.

In April, the previous Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government introduced additional restrictions on religious practices in public universities, government-subsidised private institutions and daycare centres, according to the Montreal Gazette. The measures also prohibited collective religious activities on roads and in public parks.

Quebec’s restrictions on religious symbols date back to 2019, when the CAQ government introduced its controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21. The legislation prohibits certain public servants in positions of authority from wearing visible religious symbols, including Sikh turbans and Muslim hijabs.

The law applies to schoolteachers, principals, vice-principals, police officers, judges and other law enforcement officials. It has faced several legal challenges and is currently before Canada’s Supreme Court.

Criticising the latest proposal, Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Quebec spokesperson and Director of Fundamental Freedoms at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), said the province had progressively expanded restrictions on religious expression.

She noted that the restrictions initially targeted certain public-sector employees before being extended to staff at public schools, publicly funded private schools and government-funded daycare centres.

“Once again, we’re faced with a solution in search of a problem. And this time, the Quebec government is targeting children, sending a message of exclusion and rejection of difference to every elementary school student,” McNicoll said.