Christians in the US join a March for Life each January. As Christians and citizens of Canada, we are responsible to remind our own government of the authority of God’s Word over them and their responsibility to defend the life of the innocent and vulnerable. For this reason, Ottawa, Ont., RPC’s youth group participated in the Annual National March for Life last May 11. The Ottawa March for Life is a peaceful stand against the injustices of abortion and euthanasia.

On the morning of the march, the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) held a prayer meeting surrounding these issues. Our Ottawa youth joined the ARPA prayer meeting and helped the volunteers in setting up and taking down the event. Pastor Pete Van’t Hoff (Bethel United Reformed Church) and several others spoke on the subject. He led us and the 150 other attendees in prayer, before singing several psalms and hymns.

After singing the national anthem, those who attended the prayer meeting headed to the march’s preluding rally at the foot of our Parliament buildings. We gathered with other protesters, thousands strong, talking and listening to the rallying speeches. Even with such serious, sad matters under protest, we couldn’t help but feel the flickers of hope. Emboldened by this call to action, we moved off as one, beginning the hour-long walk through downtown.

To see so many people united under one cause, even those with vastly different beliefs, steadied us in the resolve to carry on. The march began and ended at the Parliament buildings to make a clear statement to our government officials. There were few counter protesters to meet us along the way. A multitude of signs bearing verses, slogans, images, statistics, and even stories were carried by the crowd, proclaiming life and provoking viewers to consider the issues at hand. The 2023 March for Life ended mid-afternoon and our youth group headed home. We left that place with a sense of being part of something bigger than us.

After 26 years of the March for Life, the sobering reality is that we have not seen a meaningful change. In fact, it seems that the culture of death is only more ingrained in our society. Canada is the only democratic country that has no criminal restrictions on abortion, with around 100,000 abortions performed annually. This nation also has the highest euthanasia deaths worldwide. We march to protect the lives of God’s image bearers, both young and old. Much more prayer is needed for this country, since only God can turn man’s heart away from this great evil, even as Canadian Christians participate in events such as the March for Life, seeking to bring reformation to our culture.