Over 40 teenage and young adult Canadian pro-life activists basked in a 2025 US. National March for Life atmosphere on Jan. 24 energized by week one actions taken by President Donald Trump’s administration.

One day before thousands of pre-born rights champions convened at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Trump signed an executive order at the Resolute desk that fully and unconditionally pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists imprisoned by former president Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.

Kim Headley, an administrative assistant and youth coordinator for Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of the Canadian pro-life movement, described the crowd’s reaction as “electric” when various speakers mentioned the pardons.

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“It is just so wonderful to see a president pardoning people for simply practising their right to freedom of expression,” said Headley.

Maeve Gainey, a youth and outreach coordinator for Campaign Life, said Trump making the pardons so soon after his inauguration is very powerful (and) demonstrates his solidarity to the pro-life movement in some capacity.”

Gainey noted that Trump did draw ire during his campaign from members of the pro-life community for his remarks criticizing Florida’s six-week abortion ban — also adopted in Iowa — as a “terrible thing and for his vow to veto any federal abortion prohibition.

Regarding vows, Trump pledged during a pre-recorded video message played during the March for Life that he and his team “will again stand proudly for families and for life.” He pledged to the crowd that he will compel his justice department to investigate “the radical left attacks on churches and crisis-pregnancy centres, and we will bring perpetrators to justice.”

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Gideon Spevak, a Campaign Life youth coordinator, said he was keen to hear from Trump even though he finds him as “sort of middle of the road.”

“I was excited to see the video,” said Spevak. “I would just say that if there's any time for President Trump to stand up for life, it's now. He's got control of the (House of Representatives), he's got control of the Senate. That's only going to last for another 18 months before the campaigning begins for midterms.”

Headley expressed excitement over hearing American pro-life activist Lila Rose speak. Rose, who has conducted undercover investigations in abortion facilities across the U.S., has posted a wish list on her X account (@LilaGraceRose) of certain pro-life policies she hoped Trump would enact.

She got her wish already on Trump re-enacting the Mexico City Policy, which banned overseas abortion funding. Rose would like to see Trump defund Planned Parenthood and end the mail-order abortion pills.

The headlining speaker of the March for Life was Vice President J.D. Vance. His remarks about wanting to see more life born went viral online.

“So let me say very simply: I want more babies in the United States of America,” said Vance. “I want more happy children in our country, and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”

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Headley said one of the gifts of attending the U.S. March for Life is how it stimulates the young Canadian attendees to become more involved in the pro-life cause in their own communities. This generates momentum leading up to Canada’s National March for Life, scheduled for May 8 in Ottawa.

“We just try to ignite the pro-life fire inside of them so that they can come make a difference back in Canada,” said Headley. “And we just hope that they talk directly to their Member of Parliament. And we just want people to reach out to them to say, ‘hey, I'm pro-life and you have to take my views seriously.’ ”