May 17, 2024
Dear Maureen, I’m Pete Baklinski and this is your Canadian Pro-Life News Bits where I let you know what’s happening on our country’s pro-life and pro-family front.
The National March for Life took place in Ottawa last week. It was an amazing, fun, and faith-filled event. Some 3-4K attended the rally and march.
I’m going to do things a little differently this week. I’m going to highlight coverage of this event. Why? Because for the first time in the history of this event, we had unbiased and amazing wide-spread coverage.
Here's how it happened. This year we did something totally different. We decided to ignore trying to get the leftist mainstream media to cover our event. For years we have begged them for some basic coverage, asking them to show the country how powerful and energetic the rally and march are.
But, instead, the mainstream media has either entirely ignored our event or downplayed it by saying that only hundreds attended instead of thousands. Instead of showing the happy faces of the pro-life young people who attend this event, they'd show the ugly pro-abortion counter-protesters, presenting them empathetically.
So, this year, like in previous years, we reached out to mainstream media inviting them to cover our event. But that's not all. This year, a concerted effort was made to invite independent media, not funded by the Trudeau Liberals, to come and see for themselves why this is the biggest and most energetic annual event on Parliament Hill.
And, independent media came through in a big way.
They reported accurately on what was going on, why we gathered, and how big the crowd really was. These stories were shared countless times across Canada and the US.
For the first time, Canadians across the country got to see how awesome the pro-life movement is.
The future of real news in Canada is independent media and we’re so delighted that we’re really getting out the pro-life message through these outlets.
So, this week, I’m going to list the outlets that covered our events and link to their stories.
They are amazing stories that make me so proud of the pro-life movement.
If you are receiving your news through outlets like CBC, CTV, CNN, etc., I encourage you to dump these outlets and sign up to start getting real news that really matters from the outlets below.
I enjoyed running into a number of you at the rally and at the Rose Dinner. I’m so proud of what we are accomplishing together in building a culture of life where all life is protected and cherished from conception to natural death.
National March for Life coverage
RAIR Foundation: Call for Life: The National March for Life Prepares to Take Ottawa (Exclusive)
“Key organizers of the National March for Life gathered today in the pouring rain on Parliament Hill to discuss critical issues for tomorrow’s march. The press conference, exclusively covered by RAIR Foundation, highlighted the urgent need for legislative reforms and protection for society’s most vulnerable.”
Comment: This outlet did a great job covering our press conference one day before the NMFL. They ran video of the event, linked to our promo video, and highlighted the talking points of each CLC member speaking at this event. Impressive!
Western Standard: Campaign Life Coalition says Trudeau is 'devoted to death' by abortion and euthanasia
“On the eve of the National March for Life, Campaign Life Coalition bemoaned Justin Trudeau's promotion of abortion and celebrated the closure of a New Brunswick abortion clinic.”
Comment: This was decent coverage of our press conference which included a link to our entire event on YouTube. Comments by my colleague Josie Luetke were given lots of space here.
Epoch Times: Thousands Gather in Ottawa for March for Life Event
“Several thousand people gathered on Parliament Hill on May 9 for the 27th annual National March For Life event in the nation’s capital to advocate for pro-life policies in Canada.”
Comment: This report included some quotes from our press conference and quotes from some of the key speakers at the rally. Great photos too. It also covered some of the counter-protests, but near the end of the report, where such coverage belongs. Well done!
LifeSiteNews: Thousands of pro-lifers descend on Ottawa for Canada’s annual March for Life
“Thousands of pro-lifers are gathered near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday for the 27th annual National March for Life.”
Comment: LifeSite’s John-Henry Westen was on the ground covering the event. His photos and videos made it into this report. The report gives you a good sense of the energy and scope of the rally. Nicely done. This story was republished at Pregnancy Help News.
True North: Pro-life Canadians descend on Parliament Hill to demand end to abortion
“Pro-life Canadians descended onto Parliament Hill Thursday for the annual March for Life, demanding an end to abortion in Canada.”
Comment: A very positive report here. It included some of our own X posts that were embedded in the report. Writer Élie Cantin-Nantel reached out to me for our estimated number of attendees at the rally and included that in the report. This is what real journalism is all about.
Catholic Register: 'I will never forget you', March for Life theme
“Thousands of pro-lifers packed onto Parliament Hill and spilled out onto Wellington Street May 9 for the 27th annual National March for Life.”
Comment: Top-notch reporting by Anna Farrow. Lots of great quotes and about a dozen photos on a slideshow. There was a little about the Rose Dinner as well. This story really captured the spirit of the entire event. This story was republished in National Catholic Register and Catholic News Agency. Bravo!
Fatima Center: Event Recap: 2024 March for Life in Ottawa
“The Fatima Center participated in the March for Life in Ottawa on May 9, 2024, and was proud to co-sponsor this annual event for the first time. As a sponsor, we were able to host a booth at the Pro-Life Expo and Youth Summit where we could distribute Fatima resources and talk to people about the Message of Fatima. Most had not heard the full Message of Fatima nor did they realize it is the only solution given by God to win this spiritual battle.”
Comment: This group covered the event from their own unique perspective, highlighting how they participated. It was a good recap with some great photos.
Rebel News: Parliamentary cops try (and fail) to stop Rebel News from covering pro-abortion protesters
“Thousands of demonstrators took part in the annual “March for Life” in Ottawa last Thursday, expressing opposition to abortion in front of Parliament Hill. Many of the rallygoers shared the ethical position of life beginning at conception and called for public recognition of human rights for unborn children.”
Comment: This outlet came up with a unique angle to cover this event. They went into the group of counter-protesters to highlight the insanity of their views. The pro-abortion crowd only likes a fawning media, not an outlet which asks them tough questions.
Everyday for Life Canada: March for Life 2024: Life is the Only Choice
Comment: Lou Iacobelli did a nice job promoting the NMFL on his blog. It is efforts like this that make the difference.
Video coverage of National March for Life
EWTN: Candlelight vigil for victims of abortion
CLC comment: DunnMedia's Kevin Dunn and his crew did a great job in filming the vigil for EWTN's live broadcast. You can’t get better than a live stream of the entire event. This was broadcast live in millions of homes around the world.
EWTN: National March for Life, Ottawa, Canada
Comment: Again, Kevin Dunn and his crew did an amazing job of capturing the entire really on Parliament Hill and the march. Lots of live interviews with key pro-life advocates. This video is a historical archive of what really happened at the rally.
National March for Life: Watch highlights from the 2024 National March for Life in Ottawa!
Comment: This is a great four-minute recap of the rally and march capturing the energy and excitement of the event. If you don’t have time to watch the whole event, watch this.
LifeSiteNews: 2024 National March for Life | Canada
“On May 9, thousands of students, families and Canadians from all walks of life gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the 2024 National March for Life.”
Comment: LSN’s John-Henry Westen travels around with his phone getting clips of the event and putting everything together in a collage.
Dacey Media: The 27th March for Life is underway in Ottawa and the crowd is massive
Comment: Chris Dacey posted video of the NMFL to his 20K followers on X which received over 10K views. It’s people from the grassroots posting on their social channels that really help to spread the pro-life message far and wide. We need more of this!
CTV News: Anti-abortion rally in Ottawa
“The Federal NDP are concerned the Conservatives will use a demonstration against abortion rights to push for a rollback of women's rights.”
Comment: CTV used its unbalanced coverage of the rally and march as a sledgehammer with which to hit the Conservative Party. The overall message was that the Conservative Party is attached to the bad “anti-choice” zealots and is therefore bad anti-woman party that can’t be trusted. Totally biased and pathetic reporting.
Awesome social media posts
Campaign Life Coalition
Campaign Life Coalition
David Mulroney
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Maureen, organizing the rally, march, and Rose Dinner was a HUGE expense for us.
You probably wouldn't believe it if I told you all the manhours it took from our entire team to make this happen.
But, now that you've read some of the stories above and watched some of the videos, I hope that you see it is worth every dollar of the roughly $150K it takes to put this event on.
Can you spare a donation to help us cover our costs?
It's events like the National March for Life that are changing the public's perception of abortion and setting the foundation for making life one day win in Canada.
And with your help and God's help, the pro-life movement will one day be victorious in securing full legal protection for the preborn.
Thank you so much for your support.
Be bold and daring for life!