(LifeSiteNews) – At least three Canadian cities are refusing to recognize and observe December as Christian Heritage Month despite doing so last year.
Molly Banerjei, the CEO of the Canadian organization dedicated to getting governments from all levels to declare December in recognition of Christianity, said that her initiative is being met with “angry” resistance by “atheists” who are trying to “unravel” momentum gained last year.
“Our atheist friends have become very angry with the results of Christian Heritage Month,” she said as per a recent Western Standard report.
“And so they’re going through our website and, one by one, they’re doing their very best to unravel it. But they’ve been successful in three cities so far.”
Banerjei said that Okotoks, Alberta, along with Coburg and Weinfleet in Ontario have all reversed course on proclaiming December as Christian Heritage Month.
She noted that she is still waiting to hear back from the mayor of Calgary, Alberta, whether she will again support her initiative but noted that Regina, Saskatchewan, is again on board for 2025.
Regarding Okotoks, a medium-sized town just south of Calgary that is not going along with Christian Heritage Month in 2025, Banerjei said town officials told her she had people complain about it.
“They said, ‘Well, some people came and they said, ‘We’re not happy with it.’” So then, then, I said, ‘How can you just change your policy, just because some people are unhappy now?” Banerjei noted.
“What about the fact that all of us now are unhappy? What are you going to do about it?’”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, no less than 40 Canadian municipalities signed a proclamation last year declaring December as “Christian Heritage Month.
Banerjei is a realtor from Toronto and CEO of the Christian Music Festival, the group behind the push to have December recognized as Christian Heritage Month by all levels of government. She has been focusing on getting as many cities and provinces on board with her initiative.
‘Atheists are offended. Now, I’m offended,’ says Christian Heritage Month organizer
According to Banerjei, she was taken by surprise that Weinfleet won’t declare Christian Heritage Month in 2025. Last year, she said, the town’s mayor promised that the town would honor this every December.
When it comes to Coburg’s reversal of Christian Heritage Month, it took Banerjei by surprise because about 55 percent of the city is Christian.
Banerjei said she spoke with the deputy mayor and she “said to her, ‘Well, when you first came to us, you wanted it to be heritage, and we were happy about it, but now we realize this is all to do with faith and religion, and so we just want to stay away from that.’”
Banerjei noted how this response did not make sense to her, so she told the deputy mayor, “So the heritage of Canada is Christian.”
“How can you separate the heritage from Christian faith?” she noted, bringing up the fact that even the city’ buildings have “roots” in Christianity.
Banerjei said that in February she emailed an appeal to Coburg’s mayor and city council, bringing up the fact that the city’s own diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies should apply to the month.
“If DEI is truly a core value, it must be applied consistently and fairly to all communities, including Christians,” she said, adding that Christian Heritage Month is not “seeking a platform to promote a religion but a cultural and historical recognition.”
“Denying this recognition while honoring other heritage months demonstrates selective inclusivity, which contradicts the principles of fairness and equity,” she added.
At a loss, Banerjei observed that it seems “these atheists are offended. Now, I’m offended.”
“Excuse me, we worked on it for six months. So why is it that their offense is better than ours, and you can’t afford to offend them, but it’s okay to offend us?” she said.
As for provinces, Saskatchewan last year said it would designate December as Christian Heritage Month, but British Columbia’s socialist New Democratic Party government refused a request to do the same.
Canada is historically a nation founded on Christian ideals and principles. European settlers who came to Canada from France and then later from what is the modern-day United Kingdom were Christian and included missionaries who tried to spread the faith to the local Indigenous populations.
Canada has observed Christmas since 1641, well before its official founding, according to historical records.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MPs have urged all Canadians to support a petition that calls on the federal government to proclaim December as “Christian Heritage Month.”
Last year, CPC MP Marilyn Gladu introduced Private Member’s Bill C-369 that would designate December as “Christian Heritage Month,” saying this is the “fair and right” thing to do, but the bill stalled.
