March for Life Event Has Added Importance This Year Due to Election: Organizer

Pro-life advocates take part in the March for Life on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) has announced its plans for the 2025 March for Life in Ottawa, saying the anticipated federal election could serve as an opportunity to advance the pro-life cause.

The pro-life event planned for May 8 in Ottawa focuses on eliminating abortion and euthanasia. Now in its 28th year, the event includes a rally on Parliament Hill and march through downtown Ottawa, along with activities throughout the week.

CLC director of education and advocacy Josie Luetke said the impending election could benefit this year’s march.

“We definitely expect that abortion will be a subject of conversation this election,” she told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. “I think whenever there is a federal election that always adds an additional level of importance to our march.”

She also said there have been some pro-life developments south of the border that can elevate the issue. 

One of those is President Donald Trump recently pardoning 23 pro-life activists that had been in jail under a federal law that made it a crime to physically block someone from entering an abortion clinic.

The pro-life movement also celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. The precedent had largely legalized abortion in the country before it was reversed.

Luetke also noted that the United States withdrew from the World Health Organization, which she described as pro-abortion in a promotion video released Feb. 6.

The United States has also renewed its membership in the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which has an objective to “protect life at all stages,” according to a Jan. 24 statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“That’s always part of the conversation, how might that influence the conversation in Canada,” Luetke said in the phone interview.

CLC announced this year’s theme “Protection at Conception” in the video.

“For a long time, we’ve been saying that we march to defend life from conception to natural death—no exceptions, no excuses, and no compromises,” Luetke said in the video. “That’s a great tie-in to this year’s theme.”

Organizers said the event was a celebration of life, and a call to action for Canadians and politicians alike.

“It’s a celebration of life, but it’s still sad that we actually have to be here because we would like to criminalize abortion,” CLC national capital organizer Debbie Duval said in the video. “It’s a federal issue. We want the MPs to see all of us there, knowing that this has to be taken care of.”

The week-long activities start on May 6 with the Songs for Life Coffee House, Duval said.

“We have local artists singing, and you get to chat with your friends,” she said, adding that there will also be a fundraiser for a crisis pregnancy centre.

CLC is also hosting a candlelit vigil for victims of abortion during the week. The group will hold a Rose Dinner event with guest speaker, author, and pro-life advocate Emily Stimpson Chapman after the march on May 8.

Stimpson Chapman’s speech will delve into other pro-life issues, such as IVF. She is expected to use her personal struggles with fertility to present the Catholic perspective.

Stimpson Chapman said this year’s theme was central to the movement.

“I think it goes back to what we were talking about in terms of the rights of a child. It’s not just about the right to life. It’s a right to dignity. It’s a right to having every moment of your life respected,” she said in the video.

The issue of conception is something that many scientists have agreed on, according to CLC youth and outreach coordinator Maeve Gainey.

”Something like 96 percent of biologists believe that life begins at conception, but only a third of Canadians believe this,” she said.

The March for Life will be held at Parliament Hill in Ottawa with a rally beginning at 12:30 p.m. A march through downtown will start at 1:30 p.m.

Dozens joined a counter-protest on Parliament Hill at last year’s event, which included NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and other MPs from his party.

There will also be a pro-life youth event and a leader summit at the Ottawa conference centre held on May 9.

CLC said it will also be hosting a pro-life expo where attendees can connect with organizations and ministries. It runs from May 8–9.

Tickets for some of the activities, like the Rose Dinner, youth event, and leadership summit, can be purchased online at marchforlife.ca. Last year’s event drew in 4,000 attendees.