OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Thousands of Canadians met in the nation’s capital of Ottawa on Thursday to call for the end of abortion and euthanasia.
The National March for Life, organized annually by Campaign Life Coalition, was a success as thousands of Canadians marched through the city of Ottawa to show their support for the right to life of unborn children and other vulnerable people. The participants were united in their determination to “stand firm” against attempts to normalize the bloodshed.
The glorious sunny weather reflected the enthusiasm exuded by the participants.
The March 4 Life is alive in Ottawa! @LifeSite is joining forces with pro-life and pro-family witnesses from across Canada to be a voice for the voiceless — especially for the unborn, sick, and elderly. Life is sacred from birth to natural death! #March4Life @CampaignLife pic.twitter.com/8PLo5949X3
— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) May 11, 2023
Today’s events began at 12:30 p.m. with a rally on Parliament Hill, followed by a 1:30 p.m. march through downtown Ottawa. This was followed by Silent No More Awareness testimonies. The annual Rose Dinner will be served tonight.
Some beautiful video highlights from today’s National March for life in Ottawa. “I’m marching for babies, just like Maximilian.” #StandFirm #whywemarch #prolifegeneration #marchforlife pic.twitter.com/24F5bWmUwh
— Campaign Life Coalition (@CampaignLife) May 11, 2023
“Wow, there’s a lot of you today,” LifeSiteNews’ editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen told the crowd at the rally. He led them in the traditional “wave” to honor “Jesus Christ, who we know is the Victor and will bring us to victory for life in Canada and around the world.”
“LifeSiteNews is here to serve you,” he added. “From all of our 70 staff at LifeSiteNews, we love you. Thank you for being our inspiration. Stand firm for life!”
The theme of this year’s March was “Stand Firm,” a response to the Trudeau government’s strident pro-abortion reaction to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the USA. Only the most recent example of his fight against the most vulnerable of human beings, the prime minister pledged millions of additional tax dollars for abortions on Wednesday.
In its support of abortion on demand, the Liberal government appears not to find any action against pro-lifers too petty.
“… the government shut down all public washrooms in the vicinity. Shades of treatment of Truckers. The Liberal regime hates Canadian citizens who disagree with them,” tweeted marcher Deb Gyapong, a retired journalist.
Meanwhile, the overturning of Roe v. Wade was certainly an inspiration to Josie Luetke, a lead investigator for the film Roe Canada: The True North in a Post Roe World.
“The most basic function of a society is to stop its members from killing each other,” Luetke told the cheering crowd.
“Canada must end abortion and euthanasia, or we will live only to see our civilization die,” she continued.
“We can follow in the footsteps of the United States, which over turned Roe v. Wade after a nearly 50-year-long battle. We too can experience a triumph like Dobbs. It will not be easy, but it is possible.”
Archbishop Marcel Damphousse of Ottawa-Cornwall was also among those who marched today.
“The archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall is truly blessed with so many people coming out to bring a voice to those who have no voice and to really make the message loud and clear,” he told EWTN Canada, which live streamed the March for Life.
“We need to stand firm together,” the archbishop continued. “We need to be able to tell the government that there are many other options than what they’re proposing as to how we are to treat mothers who are expecting and people at the end of life who are really finding it challenging. To tell them that the only way is through death is such a horrible message to give.”
Damphousse called upon his fellow clerics “to stand firm in faith” and “speak the word of truth.”
“Marching for life is exciting because there is a lot of enthusiasm in the crowd here today,” he added.
In addition to his speech, Westen also gave an interview to EWTN Canada, in which he hammered home the importance of Christ in the pro-life movement, and the need for all of us, even if it’s “uncomfortable,” to spread the message of life to those we know.
Also in attendance at the rally were prominent American pro-lifers, including Stephen Karlen, the Director of 40 Days for Life.
READ: Trudeau promises millions more in federal funding for abortions on eve of Canadian March for Life
A small group of abortion enthusiasts who gathered as a counter-demonstration was dwarfed by the large crowds of families, singles and religious.
The pro-life movement in Canada has been revitalized following the overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that “guaranteed” abortion as a “constitutional right.”
While Canada has never enshrined abortion as a “right,” the country lacks any federal laws regulating feticide, meaning women in Canada can have their unborn child killed up until the moment of birth.
In addition to the legal silence regarding abortion, six of 10 provinces — British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland & Labrador — have gone as far as prohibiting pro-life advocates from witnessing outside abortion facilities with “bubble zone” legislation.
READ: Thousands of Canadians to ‘stand firm’ for life on Parliament Hill today
According to Campaign Life Coalition’s website, abortion has killed over 4 million preborn babies in Canada since its legalization in 1969, roughly totaling the population of the province of Alberta.
While official statistics are difficult to pin down, for every four babies born alive in Canada, one is killed in the womb via intentional abortion.