The book "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood has been banned in Edmonton. The author urges people to get a copy now before they start burning books in public. According to a report published on Monday, in 2025, school boards in Canada received 262 requests to challenge books in educational libraries, 240 of which came from Alberta. The center also noted that not all challenges are public, so the actual number of titles removed could be higher. "What is particularly noteworthy is that 240 of the 262 challenges in school libraries (92%) were the result of a ministerial order in Alberta, and the 240 questioned books were removed from schools, making it the largest book ban in Canadian history," the report stated. Canada's public broadcaster, CBC, reported that among the removed materials are also graphic novels linked to series and films such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Firefly, and V for Vendetta, as well as illustrated adaptations of classic stories about the Trojan War. Alberta's conservative government announced in 2025 the banning of certain graphic novels in school libraries due to their sexual content, following a campaign by the ultra-conservative religious group Action4Canada. The order, which came into effect on January 5, states that school authorities must ensure that any material with "explicit visual depictions of a sexual act" is not available to students within the schools. Works that include non-explicit sexual content can only be consulted from the tenth grade, i.e., by students aged 15 to 16. After the measure became known, Atwood reacted with irony on social media: "Don't read it, it will burn your hair!" In Edmonton, Canada, the graphic versions of "1984" by George Orwell and "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood were removed from public schools following the entry into force of a regulation that requires hiding literary materials with explicit sexual representations. At least 240 titles were removed from school libraries in the province, according to data released by the Center for Free Expression at the Metropolitan University of Toronto.
