OTTAWA — Organizers behind Canada’s annual March for Life say socially conservative voices remain marginalized in federal politics, accusing successive Conservative leaders of restricting MPs from openly speaking about abortion and assisted suicide.Thousands gathered on Parliament Hill Thursday for the 29th annual National March for Life organized by Campaign Life Coalition, with organizers estimating attendance between 3,000 and 5,000 people depending on weather conditions. .The event focused heavily on opposition to abortion and assisted suicide, as well as concerns over the planned 2027 expansion of euthanasia eligibility to individuals suffering solely from mental illness.In interviews with the Western Standard, Campaign Life Coalition organizers argued that federal political leaders have increasingly sought to suppress debate around socially conservative issues.Jack Fonseca said Conservative MPs had significantly more freedom to advance pro-life legislation under former prime minister Stephen Harper than under later party leaders.“Unfortunately, it has deteriorated since Stephen Harper’s third term,” Fonseca said. “He respected their freedom to do so, to represent their constituents and what was important to them.”Fonseca argued later Conservative leaders became more cautious because of media pressure.“Successive leaders of the Conservative Party clamped down on them and told them to keep quiet, not raise these issues,” he said. “So that MP freedom has deteriorated.”.Asked specifically about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Fonseca said Poilievre “doesn’t allow freedom for MPs to speak on these issues.” When asked whether that amounted to censorship, Fonseca responded: “Yeah, yeah. We’ve seen that happen.” Pete Baklinski said organizers view abortion as “the greatest human rights violation of our times.”Baklinski said the movement traces its origins to the 1969 Omnibus Bill, which legalized abortion under certain circumstances before Canada’s abortion laws were fully struck down by the Supreme Court in 1988.“Since that day, we’ve had five million pre-born humans killed by abortion,” Baklinski said. “That’s why we show up here, year after year, to demand legal protection for pre-born children in the womb.”Baklinski also criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney for supporting abortion rights despite identifying publicly as Catholic.“We have this Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney who interestingly holds himself out as a committed Catholic and yet he supports what he calls a woman’s right to choose,” Baklinski said. “There is no right in Canada to kill another person. There is no right for women just to go and kill her baby.”Baklinski argued there are currently no laws in Canada specifically regulating abortion.“There was no law that was ever passed in Parliament. There’s nothing in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” he said. “The Charter says everyone has the right to life, and I’m fighting for a Canada where that everyone includes the pre-born child in the womb.” Fonseca also argued younger Canadians and immigrant communities are increasingly receptive to the pro-life movement.“The younger generations are more pro-life than their parents,” he said, pointing to the widespread availability of ultrasound imagery online. He added many immigrants come from “very socially conservative countries that value life, they value babies, they value family.”
