Poilievre vows not to pass law restricting abortion if he becomes PM

ST. CATHARINES, ONT. – A Conservative government would not pass any laws to restrict access to abortion, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday during a campaign stop in southern Ontario.

“There will be no laws or other restrictions imposed on a woman’s right to decide to do with her body as she wishes,” he said. “And that is something that I am guaranteeing to you and to all Canadians.”

Poilievre said it has been the Conservative party’s policy for 21 years that there will be no restrictions introduced on a woman’s right to choose.

He said that promise will be included explicitly in the party’s platform.

Poilievre made the pledge at a campaign event hosted at a shipyard in St. Catharines, Ont., in response to a reporter’s question about whether he would promise a free vote on the topic in the House of Commons if there was enough interest.

The Conservative party policy declaration, last updated in September 2023, states: “On issues of moral conscience, such as abortion, the definition of marriage, and euthanasia, the Conservative Party acknowledges the diversity of deeply held personal convictions among individual party members and the right of members of Parliament to adopt positions in consultation with their constituents and to vote freely.”

That same declaration also states, as Poilievre pointed out, that a Conservative government would not support any legislation to regulate abortion.

Party leaders are not bound to follow the directions of policy declarations.

Poilievre wrapped up the day at a rally in Windsor, Ont., where a dense crowd of Conservative supporters filled a large warehouse in the border city.

Halfway through the rally, a woman in the crowd appeared to experience a medical episode.

The Conservative leader paused the rally as paramedics attended the woman. Eventually, Poilievre left the stage and, alongside his wife Anaida, went into the crowd and knelt next to the woman.

After she was stretchered out, Poilievre returned to the stage, saying with a smile, “She’s going to be OK!” to cheers from the crowd.

The Canadian Press reached out to the Conservative campaign and Border City EMS, the event paramedics at the rally, for an update on the patient’s condition but has not received a response.

Poilievre’s rally otherwise followed a similar cadence to his previous events, but ended on a note emphasizing “change” — supporters held signs with the single word behind him and the individual letters C-H-A-N-G-E raised in front of a large Canadian flag.

He repeated to the crowd: “Have hope, because change is on the way!”

That message resonated with Shannon Khan, an underemployed resident of Windsor who studied graphic design.

“I believe in Pierre Poilievre’s messaging to Canadians from the East Coast to the West. I believe that change is going to come,” she said after the rally.

Khan said she makes videos to share with young Canadians specifically in hopes of educating them about how political leadership can affect their lives.

Luca Cavallaro, a homebuilder from the area, said after the rally that he believes Poilievre’s proposals to help spur housing construction will make a difference.

“We see the price of land, materials, everything is going up. I think that, if he stays true to his word, everyone’s going to have affordable living, and that’s all we really want,” he said.

Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, said Poilievre’s remarks about a woman’s right to choose on Friday did not allay the group’s concerns about what a Conservative government might do.

“It’s meaningless to us,” Arthur said in an interview.

The coalition wants assurances a Conservative government would not allow any private member’s bill that restricts access to abortion to proceed in the House of Commons, she said. 

Arthur added that the coalition fears a Poilievre government would cut funding for reproductive health care in Canada and foreign aid that helps ensure access to abortion in other countries.

“There’s all kinds of things he could do that we’re afraid that he will do if he gains power,” Arthur said. 

The Canadian Press contacted the Conservative campaign to ask whether Poilievre would permit MPs to table private members’ bills on abortion but has not received a response.

The We Need a Law Campaign, a group that advocates against late-term abortion, said it was “deeply disappointed” by Poilievre’s remarks.

“A promise not to restrict abortion signals an unwillingness to seek a path toward a more compassionate and just society,” the organization said in a statement.

“It is time for our leaders to recognize the value of every life and to take a stand for the most vulnerable among us.” 

Liberal Leader Mark Carney was asked on the first day of the election campaign if he would support abortion access as prime minister.

“I absolutely support a woman’s right to choose, unreservedly, and will defend it as the Liberal party has defended it, proudly and consistently,” he said.

The question from a reporter was posed in the context of Carney’s faith as a Roman Catholic. He went on to explain that his faith informs his “sense of responsibility and service.”

The NDP has campaigned on a promise to improve access and coverage for abortion care in Canada.

Abortion access was a critical issue in the United States election last year and has been a recurring issue in Canadian campaigns as well.

In particular, abortion rights have been a divisive issue within Conservative ranks, with some social conservatives in Canada pushing to restrict access to abortion.

Other federal parties have attempted to use abortion rights to wedge would-be Conservative voters away from the party.

Erin O’Toole, Conservative leader during the 2021 federal election campaign, said he was “pro-choice” but Liberals accused him of pretending to support a woman’s right to choose.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

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His predecessor Andrew Scheer, who remains a candidate in the current federal election, described himself as “pro-life” during the 2019 campaign but vowed not to reopen the abortion debate in the House of Commons.

As recently as May 2024, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau attacked Conservative political leaders, accusing them of failing to stand up for women’s rights in Canada amid the rollback of Roe v. Wade abortion protections in the United States.

In particular, he chastised Blaine Higgs, the Progressive Conservative premier of New Brunswick at the time, over legislation that stemmed public funding for abortion clinics in the province. Higgs was defeated by Liberal Susan Holt in the provincial election later that year.

— With files from Jim Bronskill in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.