Canadian Bishops call on Catholics to vote with a vision for a better future

By Lisa Zengariini

Millions of Canadians head to the polls on Monday to elect a new Federal Government following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s  resignation from office in March  after ten years in power. The two main contestants are the new leader of the Liberal Party and Interim Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Pierre Poilievre leader of the Conservative opposition.

A call to reflect deeply on the nation’s challenges 

Ahead of the vote the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has called on the faithful to reflect deeply on the nation’s challenges with hope and a vision for a better future. In a Statement issued on April 23, the bishops emphasized the responsibility of all eligible citizens to engage in the electoral process and vote for policies that serve the common good.

The bishops remind Catholics that their faith provides essential moral and social guidance, helping them “understand and respond to the critical issues facing the  country, such as right to life—from conception to natural death.

Right to life and human dignity

“This right – they remark - is being undermined by the lack of legal protection for the unborn, the ongoing expansion of eligibility for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), and the insufficient access to quality palliative care for those who are suffering at the end of life.

The Bishops  also highlighted concerns about poverty, human trafficking, mental illness, and the treatment of immigrants.

Religious freedom,  solidarity and family

They further expressed alarm over growing intolerance toward religious communities and potential threats to their charitable tax status.

In addition to these issues, the statement called for policies that support the family as the cornerstone of society, respect for human dignity, and a national economic vision rooted in justice and solidarity, both domestically and internationally.

The bishops urged the faithful to prayerfully reflect on these issues, form their consciences, and vote accordingly. As the election draws near, Catholics are encouraged to unite in prayer for the country, its political candidates, and their fellow citizens, asking for God’s guidance in choosing leaders who will uphold justice and the common good.

The electoral campaign

At the beginning of the year, Canada’s surging cost of living, a housing affordability crisis, and debates over immigration dominated the election agenda. However, the increasing confrontation with the United States over tariffs against Canadian exports and President Donald Trump’s threats to absorb Canada as “the 51st state have  come to the forefront of the campaign in the past two months. As the trade war and annexation threats accelerated from Washington, the Liberals have seen their polling numbers drastically reverse, quickly closing the gap with their Conservative rivals. The latest polls suggest that Carney could  win the race though by a narrow margin.

A political newcomer and former governor of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, Carney has pledged to “build things in this country again” to make Canada less reliant on the US: new homes, new factories, and new sources of “clean and conventional energy.”

Conservative leader Poilievre, has on the other hand, cast the election as a battle between everyday Canadians and the “Ottawa elites” who have run the country for the past ten years. Running on a platform similar to that of President Trump to put “Canada first,” Poilievre wants to slash government funding, streamline the country’s bureaucracy and strip away environmental laws to further exploit the country’s vast natural riches.

Mourning victims of the attack against the Filipino community in Vancouver 

The two leaders wrapped up their campaigns on a somber note on Sunday after at least 11 people were killed and more than 20 injured in a deadly car-ramming attack in Vancouver, British Columbia at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver, on Saturday, 26 April. A 30-year-old suspect has been arrested  and the police said the attack is not believed to be an act of terrorism, and that the unnamed suspect was known to “police and healthcare professionals related to mental health.”

Both Poilievre and Carney  visited the site to express their closeness to the Filipino community. They were joined, amongts others, by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese who called for prayers for the victims and their families.