Poilievre vows not to pass abortion restrictions if elected prime minister – National
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.”
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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.
The Canadian Press contacted the Conservative campaign to ask whether Poilievre would permit MPs to table private member’s bills on abortion but has not received a response.
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.
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.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
