Calgary's largest school division removed 44 books from library shelves following a provincial order targeting sexually explicit material, though the district won't reveal which specific titles were pulled, CBC News reported. The Calgary Board of Education has approximately 700,000 books in its collection.

The directive stems from concerns raised last May when a conservative group flagged graphic novels they felt contained inappropriate content for students. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides initially ordered schools to remove books with sexually explicit images and written descriptions by October, but that first attempt sparked controversy when Edmonton Public Schools prepared to pull over 200 titles including The Handmaid's Tale and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Premier Danielle Smith criticized the school board for what she called "vicious compliance," prompting the government to narrow its approach. The updated ministerial order, which took effect January 5, now focuses specifically on materials depicting graphic sexual acts while exempting anatomy textbooks.

Calgary Catholic School District found no material warranting removal after reviewing its collection. Across the province, Elk Island Catholic Schools and Red Deer Public Schools reached similar conclusions after deploying staff to examine their libraries.

Meagan Parisian, a Red Deer parent and vice-president of the Alberta School Councils' Association, told CBC News that the small number of flagged titles raises questions about whether inappropriate material was widespread enough to justify the effort.