List of Anti-Choice Members of Parliament – Current

By Joyce Arthur, Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada

October 2, 2012  *Revised February 9, 2015*

• List 1 – Totals of Members of Parliament (MPs) from each party who are anti-choice, pro-choice, or unknown – with comparisons just before the election on May 2, 2011 and now. 
• List 2 – Known anti-choice MPs as of Feb 3, 2015. Conservatives  •  Liberals
• List 3 (goes to different page) – Known Pro-choice MPs and those with an Unknown stance (names and party affiliation only).

Please email info@arcc-cdac.ca if you have additional information or any corrections for these lists. Thank you!

(Archived list prior to Motion 312 vote is here. Archived list prior to May 2011 election is here)

List 1: Totals of MPs who are anti-choice or pro-choice

* The estimate of pro-choice MPs includes Conservative and Liberal MPs with a public pro-choice position and/or pro-choice voting record, as well as all NDP (95), Bloc Quebecois (2), Force et Démocratie (2), and Green (2) MPs based on their voting records and the assumption they are pro-choice.

List 2: Known Anti-choice MPs

In the table below,some MPs have asterisks beside their name (also in red font). These MPs voted in favour of Bill C-484 or Bill C-510, or opposed the Order of Canada for Dr. Henry Morgentaler. Some may have voted against Motion 312, but otherwise have no other known public position on abortion. It’s possible they are not anti-choice and a few are actually pro-choice (as noted). They are not included in the total figures above, just in the list below. Further information can be found in the table footnotes. (Please email info@arcc-cdac.ca if you have additional information.

* These MPs voted in favour of Bill C-484 but have no other known public position on abortion. They may be either anti-choice or pro-choice, so they are not included in the totals (top of page), just in the above long list (In particular, John Baird is pro-choice). (Please email info@arcc-cdac.ca if you have additional information.)

** These MPs voted in favour of Bill C-510 but have no other known public position on abortion. They are not included in the totals (top of page), just in the above long list. (Please email info@arcc-cdac.ca if you have additional information.)

*** These MPs were opposed to giving the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, according to a survey done by Campaign Life Coalition, but have no other known public position on abortion (except for Liberal MP Wayne Easter, who is pro-choice).

**** Massimo Pacetti was previously listed as anti-choice, but he gave a strong pro-choice speech at the Sept. 21, 2012 Parliamentary debate on Motion 312.

Column 1 — Anti-choice MPs were listed during or after the 2011 election. Criteria: They had an anti-choice voting record, or had publicly spoken at or attended events organized by anti-choice groups, or had publicly stated they are “pro-life” or would support abortion only in limited circumstances.

Column 2 — Whether the MP publicly opposed the awarding of the Order of Canada to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, according to a survey conducted by Campaign Life Coalition. (Note: Wayne Easter is pro-choice, as shown by his recent comment on the PEI abortion access situation.)

Column 3 — Whether the MP voted in favour of Bill C-484 (“Unborn Victims of Crime Act”) at 2^nd reading in Parliament on March 5, 2008. (Note: Some pro-choice MPs voted in favour of Bill C-484, including Peter Stoffer (NDP) and Liberal MP’s John Cannis and Sukh Dhaliwal.)

Column 4 — Whether the MP voted in favour of Bill C-510 (“coerced abortion”) at 2^nd reading in Parliament on December 15, 2010. Note: Harper whipped his Cabinet to vote against it, but 10 out of about 35 Cabinet members still voted in favour of it, as well as 77 of the rest of the Conservative caucus (and 10 Liberals).

Column 5 – Whether the MP voted in favour of Motion 312 on Sept 26, 2012 (for a Parliamentary committee to examine whether fetuses should be defined as human beings). 91 MPs voted in favour, including 10 Cabinet members, against Harper’s orders. They have all been designated as anti-choice, as all were made well aware of the threat to women’s rights posed by the motion. MPs who voted No are not necessarily pro-choice – many were complying with Harper’s instruction to vote No, or were voting according to their constituents’ wishes. These MPs should not be considered a threat to abortion rights, despite their personal views.

Primary Sources:

• Parliamentary voting record on Motion 312, Sept. 26, 2012.
• Members of the House of Commons, Parliament of Canada.
• Inside Politics Blog, #M312: The full list of yeas vs. nays (203-91). Sept 27, 2012.
• 2011 Federal Election, Campaign Life Coalition, Voting records / Candidate evaluations.
• Parliamentary voting record on Bill C-510, “coerced abortion”, December 15, 2010.
• Federal Election, CLC National News, November 2008.
• 2008 Federal Elections, Candidate Evaluations. Campaign Life Coalition. October 2008.
• Canadian National Pro-Life Group Presents Detailed Assessment of Federal Election Result, Steve Jalsevac, LifeSiteNews, October 31, 2008.
• Federal Election Results Mixed for Ontario Gays, Xtra.ca, Oct. 15, 2008.
• Over 100 MPs Oppose Morgentaler Order of Canada – List Released Today, LifeSiteNews.com, August 28, 2008
• Parliamentary voting record on Bill C-484, “Unborn Victims of Crime Act”, March 5, 2008.
• Conservative Minority Poses a Danger to Abortion Rights, Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, June 23, 2006
• Candidate Evaluations / Questionnaire Results – Federal Election Canada 2006, Campaign Life Coalition 
• Ontario Questionnaire Results (2000 Ontario Provincial election), The Interim, November 2000.
• A Discouraging Victory, Joyce Arthur, Pro-Choice Press, Spring/Summer 2004
• The anti-abortion MPs, David Akin’s On the Hill blog, May 12