You may have noticed more anti-abortion protesters with their infamous graphic signs on Canadian streets recently. You may also have noticed that a vote on the issue at a recent conservative convention was….a lot closer than most people thought it would be. Despite polls showing a majority of Canadians support legal abortions and a woman’s right to choose, today’s pro-life movement has a new message and a new strategy. Those behind it are framing the debate as one of female empowerment, and surgically looking for ridings and candidates who are vulnerable and might be converted to the cause.

The truth is, while the United States screams about a new justice potentially overturning Roe v Wade, Canada has its own reinvigorated pro-life movement to contend with. If Doug Ford’s election in Ontario was a crack in the bedrock, upcoming votes in Alberta and Nova Scotia could signal a major tectonic shift. And of course, the 2019 federal election looms… Anne Kingston of Maclean’s digs into the movement’s long-term plans to put laws restricting abortion back in the conservative crosshairs.