A
petition filed in the House of Commons asking for Canada to pull out of the United Nations has garnered over 71,000 signatures as its Tory MP sponsor takes flak from Liberal ministers.
“Over 60,000 Canadians have now signed a petition calling on Canada to protect our national sovereignty by withdrawing from the UN and its subsidiary organizations,”
wrote Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis on the X platform on Jan. 3. Ms. Lewis is sponsoring the petition filed by Doug Porter from Burnaby, B.C.
The petition says that membership in the U.N. and its subsidiary organizations “imposes negative consequences on the people of Canada.”
Although the petition has been open to signatures since October, it has only recently caught wider attention, and some members of the Liberal government are using it to criticize the Conservative Party.
“Just unbelievable! Pulling out of the UN when the world needs to come together is what Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre are now advocating!?”
commented Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne on X on Jan. 5.
Two parliamentary secretaries to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly also chimed in. Liberal MP Rob Oliphant
called the proposal “absurd” and “dangerous.”
Liberal MP Pam Damoff remarked that Ms. Lewis is part of the Tory shadow cabinet and sits in the front bench. “She wants to withdraw Canada from the UN. This is Poilievre’s Conservative Party,” she
said on Jan. 3. Ms. Joly reposted Ms. Damoff’s remarks on her X account.
The petition, which has a closing date of Feb. 7, lists concerns about Canada’s participation in the U.N. and its subsidiary bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO). It has so far garnered the
fourth-highest number of signatures for petitions in the 44th Parliament, which started in the fall of 2021. The
top petition, launched Nov. 24, 2023, and sponsored by Tory MP Michelle Ferreri, received 386,698 signatures before it closed Dec. 24. Currently waiting for certification, it calls on the House to vote no confidence in the government and for an election to be called.
The United Nations petitioners argue that the obligations and initiatives associated with the U.N., such as the comprehensive Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, undermine national sovereignty and individual autonomy.
Agenda 2030 was adopted in 2015 by the U.N. General Assembly, the principal deliberative assembly of the United Nations, with the stated aim of significantly enhancing global conditions.
It includes 17 objectives and 169 specific targets that focus on global issues such as eradicating all forms of poverty, addressing climate change, and fostering the development and distribution of vaccines and medications.
The petitioners contend that the rapid implementation of these programs lacks transparency and public consent, affecting various aspects of life from cultural values to privacy rights.
“These sweeping impacts on public and private life serve the interests of UN/WHO and unelected private entities (e.g. World Economic Forum, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, International Planned Parenthood Federation, etc.), while diminishing the health rights and freedom of Canadians,” states the petition.
Ms. Lewis has been a critic of other international organizations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF). Through inquiries with the government, she has been able to discover information about the scope of the Canadian government’s relationship with the WEF.
