Matt and Nicole Alexander were long-serving educators in Cobden, Ontario, employed by the Renfrew County District School Board. They are also the parents of Josh Alexander, the student who stood up for female students who were uncomfortable with males in their school washrooms. Josh also protested, along with his brother, against drag queen story hours for children. Because of his activism, Josh was excluded from school and was actually arrested for going to class.

The Alexander parents were both suspended from their teaching positions shortly after Josh’s activism. On April 17, 2023, Matt was suspended in connection with unspecified social media complaints. Three weeks later, Nicole was suspended after removing a pride poster (placed without her consent) from her classroom door. This triggered a six-month investigation.

On October 26, 2023 both Matt and Nicole were terminated by the school board for “not celebrating and affirming LGBTQ issues,” despite their impeccable teaching records. The dismissals had devastating effects: the couple lost their jobs, had to sell their home, saw their pensions decimated, and had to retrain for new careers.

The Alexanders have launched two formal legal challenges: a human rights complaint filed against the Renfrew County District School Board, alleging religious discrimination based on their Charter‑protected freedom of conscience; and a Labour Relations Complaint filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board against the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) for failing to properly defend and represent them, including refusing to bring their case to arbitration.