More than 100 Albertans gathered outside the legislature building Saturday to express their support for the province’s new legislation targeting transgender women and youth.

The province introduced three new bills earlier this month targeting the transgender and non-binary community, which, according to 2021 census data, makes up less than 0.4 per cent of Albertans.

If the bills pass, they would ban transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports divisions, restrict gender-affirming medical treatments for trans and nonbinary youth, and require schools to disclose and obtain parental approval for use a student’s preferred pronoun or name at school.

“Today we are here to celebrate the legislation,” said organizer Benita Pedersen.

“In the past, I have protested laws I don’t agree with. But in this case, I’m here to praise the legislation rather than protest against it.”

Pedersen is the founder of All Fired Up for Freedom, a group focused on “the protection and restoration of individual rights, freedoms, and responsibilities.”

The rally was organized by six groups, including Pedersen’s and the Association for Reformed Political Action of Canada (ARPA), a group aimed at bringing “a biblical perspective” to civil authorities.

Pedersen said she was happy with the turnout.

“We get the sense that most Albertans believe in healthy boundaries for children, they believe the relationship between parents and children is special and nothing should interfere with that,” he said.

A group of Albertans gathered to show their support for the province’s new legislation targeting the transgender and non-binary community on Nov. 9, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

Since the policies were announced, thousands of Albertans – including doctors, transgender healthcare specialists, legal experts, educators and LGBTQ2S+ advocates – have protested and voiced their opposition to the legislation.

Critics have also raised questions about government overreach, saying that medical decisions for young people should be between young people, their parents and their doctors.

Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation said they will take legal action against the Alberta government over these policies.

Premier Danielle Smith said she believes the policies are reasonable and will stand up in court.

Smith has maintained that the legislation is to protect young people and is based on policy changes in countries such as Denmark and the United Kingdom.