On October 25th, 2026, BC woke up to a new incoming government, with the BC Conservative Party winning by a landslide. The newly elected government can make significant changes to education in the province during their term, including pursuing its campaign promise of repealing SOGI 123.
Under premier-designate Lorne Doerkson and a majority government, the Conservatives can advance their education agenda without relying on opposition votes to pass ordinary legislation. This means that the Conservatives have acquired the political authority to pursue their promises, but those promises have not automatically become law. Among their education commitments is a promise to get education “back to basics” by focusing on literacy, mathematics, and subject knowledge. This is an interesting promise because these subjects have never stopped being the focus of BC schools. Other promises include increasing the budget for playground equipment with a goal of helping 50 schools to upgrade their playground equipment each year and to expand school meal programs in high-needs communities.
Safety at School
In what appears to be an effort to appeal to teachers and parents through a law-and-order approach, the Conservatives have promised to make it easier for educators to establish order and enable School Liaison Officer programs. While proponents argue that police officers in schools can contribute to safety and positive relationships, their presence also raises concerns about the disproportionate impacts of policing on Indigenous, Black, disabled, and other marginalized students. Without clear boundaries separating student discipline from law enforcement, these programs risk contributing to the criminalization of student behaviour. Criminalizing student behaviour risks undermining students’ sense of belonging, trust in educational institutions, and engagement with learning, potentially contributing to increased alienation, disengagement, and diminished academic motivation.
Prepare Students for Life
Another promise made in the Conservative Party platform was to “Prepare students for life.” The platform identifies financial literacy, including budgeting, saving, interest, and credit, alongside civics, citizenship, digital and AI safety, and Holocaust education. Much of this content is already embedded in the current BC curriculum and has been taught for years. Financial literacy and civics are established curricular topics, while Holocaust education is explicitly addressed in Social Studies 10. Digital citizenship is also addressed through existing learning standards, although the extent to which AI safety is explicitly required warrants further examination. Any plans to expand these topics, introduce new requirements, or change how they are assessed have not been clarified at this point.
SOGI 123
Perhaps the most contentious education promise that the Conservative Party campaigned upon was to repeal SOGI 123 and instead address bullying directly. This is wildly problematic for many reasons, including that you cannot simply repeal a philosophy of inclusion. Teachers and education professionals have obligations under the BC Human Rights Code. We must maintain safe, inclusive classrooms regardless of whether a particular resource package is available. More importantly, bullying prevention and SOGI 123 are not competing objectives. Effective bullying prevention requires understanding why certain groups are disproportionately targeted and how to respond to incidents with appropriate sensitivity. SOGI 123 is one framework for understanding and addressing the particular challenges faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ students, who are frequently targeted by identity-based bullying and discrimination.
SOGI 123 is a flashpoint for many people because of confusion and misinformation about what it entails. Allegations that teachers encourage children to transition genders or engage in risky sexual activity have circulated in public discussions. These claims misrepresent the purpose of the resources and disregard teachers’ professional responsibilities. SOGI 123 is not a separate curriculum that teachers are required to teach. It is an inclusive education framework supported by resources for teachers and schools. At its heart, it is about family, care, dignity, and respect for everyone. It helps guide discussions about different families, identities, relationships, and what makes each person a unique human being. SOGI 123 also supports school policies and practices, provides guidance for creating safe spaces and using inclusive language, and offers teaching resources that can be integrated across classroom learning.
Teachers in BC are already legally, ethically, and professionally bound to protect students and foster inclusive learning environments. These responsibilities are established through the BC Human Rights Code, the Professional Standards for BC Educators, provincial requirements for school codes of conduct, and the BC Ministry’s Diversity in BC Schools Policy. Inclusion is also embedded in school district expectations, rather than existing solely within SOGI 123. Sexual orientation and gender identity or expression are explicitly protected characteristics under BC human rights legislation. Together, these laws, professional standards, and policies establish expectations that educators respect and value student diversity, protect students’ emotional and physical safety, and treat students equitably. These responsibilities extend beyond responding to bullying incidents. They inform our instructional planning, assessment practices, interactions with families, and the classroom communities we create. BC school boards are also required to address prohibited grounds of discrimination in their codes of conduct, including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. To ignore these obligations would be a disservice to the professional and ethical standards we are expected to uphold.
So yes, SOGI 123 could be defunded, withdrawn, or removed as a provincially supported resource. But doing so would not, on its own, eliminate the legal and professional responsibilities that already govern our practice. Teachers must continue to uphold those responsibilities, regardless of which educational resources receive government support.
So What’s Next?
Ultimately, the question is what happens when political commitments change, but educators’ responsibilities to students remain? At this point, the details of how these campaign promises will be implemented remain unclear. As November 20th, 2026 draws closer, it is important to recognize that the government in charge may change, and SOGI 123 may be withdrawn as a resource, but a teacher’s responsibility to protect the dignity, safety, and belonging of 2SLGBTQIA+ students remains.