Canada’s annual March for Life was held in person this year, on 13 May, after last year’s event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds marched through the streets of Ottawa last week, while thousands more watched online.

Pro-life speakers reiterated the harmful impact of abortion and assisted suicide, which grows in Canada each year.

Ontario’s Deputy State Knight, of the Knights of Columbus, spoke about the tragedy of assisted suicide, stating: “Freedom… they talk about autonomy. It’s a lie… It’s about killing people… That’s what’s happening, that’s what it’s about. It’s about denying proper care, it’s about abandoning people at their time of need.”

Euthanasia was legalised in 2016. In its first year of legalisation, almost 2,000 Canadians were killed as a result of assisted suicide. The death toll for the year 2019 was 5,631, over double the figure a few years before.

At the end of the march, 300 red roses were placed at the centennial flame monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to represent the estimated 300 lives lost daily to abortion, amounting to over 100,000 abortions every year.

Politicians were largely absent from the event.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “It is wonderful to see such numbers of people out on the streets defending life, while also being united virtually. Every life is a gift, which this event affirmed and proclaimed with love. The politicians of Canada should take note.

“The abortion statistics in Canada are harrowing, as they are elsewhere, including in the UK, while the recent introduction of euthanasia in Canada is also deeply troubling and a blight on the nation.

“SPUC has reported on a spate of worrying stories coming out of Canada, including the 34% of Canadians killed by assisted suicide who stated they feared being a burden on family and carers – suggesting that many killed by euthanasia, far from having a choice, felt they had no other option but to end their lives.  

“But Canadians, as this event shows, do still have a choice and indeed a voice – to oppose and ultimately seek an end to euthanasia and abortion, which attack the unborn, the unwell and the aged.

“There is power in the presence of people at these marches, showing that there are Canadians who will not back down in speaking up for the most vulnerable in their society. Where there is love, there is hope; where there is hope, there is action.”

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