A few nights ago I was getting ready to go see comedian Jim Gaffigan at the Sony Centre (I’ll never think of kale the same way), and while I was curling my hair in front of the mirror, I was listening to Andrew Scheer’s recent interview on Power and Politics. My mother was visiting me in Toronto, and in the room getting ready as well. As she was listening to him comment on abortion, she turned to me and said, “another guy who’s not getting my vote” and walked out of the room.

As a woman working full-time in the pro-life movement, it struck me that my whole life my mother and I were always in sync on these types of issues, and in the blink of an eye we were on opposing sides after listening to a five-minute interview. I followed her out of the room and asked her why. We had a discussion about what his comments meant and at the end, her mind was changed. I realized that many of her sentiments were similar to many disenchanted pro-life Canadians on social media after listening to Andrew Scheer’s responses to abortion-related questions at his press conference on Wednesday. My own organization, RightNow, received e-mails and comments that swarmed my personal Facebook profile, our Facebook page, and other pro-life pages as well.

One pro-life organization even went so far as to say he now had a “pro-abortion stance“.

I can understand why people like my mom, and other grassroots pro-lifers find some of Scheer’s comments frustrating, which is why I felt the need to write this post. Hearing the tired, old line of not re-opening the abortion debate can make anyone disenchanted. Pro-life organizations however, need to have better political acumen so that pro-lifers do not get led astray by withholding support from one of the most solid candidates to enter the race thus far.

What he said and what he didn’t say

So what did Andrew Scheer say and what did he not say?

Last Wednesday, Andrew Scheer made the announcement that he was seeking the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. During the question and answer period with the media after the announcement, he was asked by La Presse on whether or not he would legislate on abortion. This was his response:

As I said, the focus of my candidacy is the unity of the Conservative Party and the caucus. Our members have different opinions and there are other things where we agree. So I will focus on things that maintain unity of our caucus. So for these issues that you just mentioned, it’s not up to me to re-open the debate on these issues.



A follow-up question came from the Huffington Post asked him if he would allow legislation such as Stephen Woodworth’s Motion 312, to which he answered:

As Leader of the Conservative Party, as Prime Minister of Canada, it will not – those subjects will not be re-opened from the Conservative Government.

Another follow-up from Huffington Post asked him what he would do if backbench caucus members wanted to introduce private members’ legislation or speak in statements to the House of Commons (known as SO-31’s) before Question Period. This is what he had to say:

Well, first of all, I hate to answer hypothetical questions. But, you know, there’s a very wise Speaker’s [he is referring to himself when he was Speaker of the House] ruling in the previous Parliament about the rights of Members to make statements on any matter that they wish and their rights to speak don’t come from party officials but from their inherent rights as Members of Parliament. I’ve never been afraid of having conversations and debates, and each individual M.P. has rights as Members to bring forward legislation and to make statements to bring up topics that they care deeply about, either on behalf of themselves or their constituents.

Later, on Power and Politics, Andrew Scheer had an interview with Rosemary Barton who again asked him about this issue. He said,

Listen, my record has been consistent and I’m an authentic person, I am pro-life. I’ve always been consistent on that. But does that mean that the Prime Minister or the leader of our party should legislate on that when even our caucus isn’t united on that?

Finally, in a speech delivered in Regina on Friday night, which was broadcasted on Andrew Scheer’s Facebook page, he stated:

Conservatives do not win when they abandon their principles. As a leader, I will respect the diversity of opinions among my caucus and encourage them to put forward pieces of legislation that unify the party. On matters of conscience where there are differing opinions, I will respect the lack of consensus by allowing MP’s their freedom to vote with their conscience. Other party’s don’t respect the diversity of views in their own caucus. As a leader, I will work to build a broad coalition. That’s how you build unity.

What this means

The next election is almost three years from today, scheduled for October 21, 2019. Is it possible that the Conservatives can win government then? Yes. It is probable? That remains to be seen. The point is, what unites the caucus and the Party in three years’ (and beyond) time could be different from what unites them now. How do we do this? We elect enough pro-life Member of Parliament to get that majority. It’s easier than it sounds, and it’s what our new organization RightNow is dedicated to doing.

Andrew Scheer has said that the government will not introduce legislation on abortion. When leadership candidates (or even elected leaders) of political parties say that, it means the cabinet. Let’s say the Conservatives win 180 seats in the next federal election and of the 180 MPs, 30 of them are in cabinet. That means 150 other Conservative MPs would be allowed to introduce a private members’ bill on this. He also never said that he would whip his cabinet not to vote for pro-life motions or bills nor did he say he himself would not vote for them either.

According to Andrew Scheer, it is up to us to bring up our issue. Andrew Scheer is not wrong when he says that the caucus as a whole and the Party’s policy statement declare that the Party does not want to re-open the abortion issue. So let’s change that!

If we don’t like this policy, let’s change it. Let’s become members of the party, attend the next convention as delegates, and put forward an amendment that would remove that section of the policy. LGBT Tory was successful at removing a piece of party policy this past convention so that the party took a blank-slate position on marriage, let’s do the same with the abortion policy. It can be done, and we’re here to help you do it.



Why you should continue to support him

Andrew Scheer has a perfect pro-life voting record as a Member of Parliament. As an elected Member of Parliament for over a decade, he has voted in favour of pro-life motions and bills every single time. He was also outspoken against notorious abortionist Henry Morgentaler receiving the Order of Canada. Not only that, but as Speaker of the House he ruled in favour of Mark Warawa’s right to bring up statements on his failed motion, M-408 (asking the government to condemn sex-selective abortion) overruling the party whip, Gordon O’Connor. At the time, O’Connor had warned Warawa not to bring this issue up any longer since the House Procedure and Affairs Committee ruled that his motion could not come to the House, but Scheer overruled him saying it was his right to speak on whatever issue he wished.

Lastly, Scheer is being supported by known pro-lifers Mark Strahl, Mark Warawa, Bob Zimmer, Garnett Genuis, Arnold Viersen, Chris Warkentin, Gerry Ritz, Cathay Wagantal, Kelly Block and Ted Falk, many of whom were present during his announcement (see below). Not only that, Cathay currently has a bill in the House of Commons being debated tomorrow called Bill C-225, which would make it an offence to cause injury or death to a pre-born child while committing an offence against a pregnant woman. (Click here to as your MP to vote for this bill).

He’s not another Stephen Harper or Patrick Brown when it comes to this issue

Scheer is a father of five, with a perfect pro-life voting record, a staunch Catholic whose father is a Deacon at one of Ottawa’s largest Churches. As I mentioned above, he has gone above and beyond what many pro-life MP’s have done in terms of siding with pro-lifers and speaking out for our issues. Harper had little religious motivation and as many people know, had a wife who was openly pro-choice. I cannot predict the future, however given the circumstances, upbringing and personal lives of both men when it comes to this issue, we have no reason to suspect Scheer would ever muzzle his caucus as Harper did at certain times when it came to abortion.

In terms of Patrick Brown, the PC leader only made one promise on abortion, and that was to allow abortion statistics to be publicized. He has not said that he would renege on that promise, nor do we know if he would renege until he is in government. Although Brown’s dishonesty on other issues like the sex-ed curriculum can be questioned, Scheer has made no specific promise to pro-lifers on which he can be accused of reneging at this point in time.

He knows parliamentary procedure like the back of his hand

As Deputy House Speaker (2008-2011), Speaker of the House (2011-2015) and Opposition House Leader (2015-2016), Scheer had to know House procedure in and out. If anyone knows how to get a bill through the House of Commons and the Senate, it’s him.



He can win

Scheer has name recognition and is the only fluently bilingual registered candidate. At the early age of 25, he won a seat that since its creation in 1988 had gone to the NDP. In a recent Mainstreet poll, Scheer’s favourability ratio amongst Conservative voters was the highest out of all the other candidates. His affability has a broad appeal, which is helpful in a political climate where pro-life politicians are not as broadly liked.

There is an old adage that you can’t win the lottery if you don’t play.

Well, we as pro-lifers can’t win in politics if we don’t play.

Andrew Scheer is pro-life. He has stated so and voted so. He is a practising Catholic husband and father of five young children. But unless we deliver a pro-life Parliament to Andrew Scheer, what is the point of his government introducing pro-life legislation?

Introducing a piece of government legislation isn’t free. It must go through all the stages of a bill before it is passed into law, which takes time. It takes hours of research, compilation, and then must be introduced and approved by the cabinet before it is introduced by a cabinet minister in the House or Senate.

Oh yes. The Senate.

Just because a bill passes the House of Commons, doesn’t mean it will become law. It must pass both Houses of Parliament. If you think that Justin Trudeau will be appointing pro-life Senators and pro-life judges think again.

If Andrew Scheer becomes Prime Minister, the probability of this self-professed pro-lifer with a perfect pro-life voting record to appoint pro-life Senators and judges (including Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada) is high. It’s also essential to passing pro-life legislation.

If you are upset that Andrew Scheer is not using pro-life talking points, that’s fine. Just consider the following:

If you to want to win a boxing match or run a marathon, you have to prepare. Not by staying at home saying “oh, I wish I was fit enough to win this fight or run this race”, but by actually getting actively prepared. Not just be doing anything, but specific exercises that will prepare you for this fight or race as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

The same goes for the political pro-life movement.

Andrew Scheer’s comments (or lack thereof, depending on how you look at it), is a reflection of our collective efforts as a political pro-life movement. This solid pro-lifer knows that there isn’t enough pro-life support to win a leadership or election. Yet.

If we want major political parties, their leaders, and their caucuses to adopt pro-life positions, then we need to make sure that we identify (and create) enough pro-lifers who are politically active to do so. To run for nominations and elections, help volunteer with nomination and election campaigns and do the work necessary to get the job done.

This takes time. But it can be done. And the new political pro-life organization that I co-founded with my business partner, Scott Hayward, can help you get this done.

Moving the pro-life dial at the leadership level takes time. It would not make sense if the Conservative Party of Canada went from having a leader like Stephen Harper to having a leader whose first priority would be to outlaw abortion as soon as they got into government.

We need to keep our expectations in the realm of reality, while continuously moving forward toward success.

There is no issue-based group as broad, numerous or passionate as the pro-life electorate. We need to stop doing anything pro-life just because it’s better than nothing, and start doing something effective. Groups with results-driven campaigns, proven victories and political acumen should be the only ones on your radar when it comes to the political arm of the movement. Anything else is a waste of time, energy and resources.

There is a silent majority of electors who want restrictions on abortion, but they aren’t just Catholics. Or Christians. Or people of any faith tradition, for that matter. They are our atheist acquaintances, our Hindu co-workers and our Muslim neighbours. We just need to literally go to their door, identify them and have them work with us toward political success.

We can’t ask Andrew Scheer to go to bat for us and not provide him with a bat. We have multiple pro-life candidates running for leadership. Don’t leave this one off your ballot.