Canadians do not yet know the timing nor the circumstances that will cause a federal election to be officially called. Still, it is time for the voters of this land, Catholics specifically, to reflect upon how they intend to help chart a course for the future.

The Catholic Register recently spoke to Matthew Marquardt of Catholic Conscience. The executive director and founder of the non-partisan civic engagement organization calls on people of faith to meet this moment imperatively.

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“I’m really concerned because I think at the moment, we as a society, the federal government and provincial governments are living way beyond our means,” said Marquardt. “We’re running up large debts. We continue causing way too much environmental harm without really getting serious about fixing it. And we are making choices that are more about our own personal comfort and our little personal priorities than they are about what’s good for us.”

It is a moment to consider the whole picture, added Marquardt, “from the point of view of what we’re leaving to our children and our grandchildren.”

Catholic Conscience has updated its website (catholicconscience.org) to provide voter guides for the Ontario provincial election scheduled for Feb. 27 and the federal election slated for Oct. 20 of this year, though it is highly likely to take place sooner once Parliament returns from prorogation. An earlier decision date will predicate on the Conservative, NDP and Bloc Québécois parties toppling the Liberal Party with a vote of non-confidence or if the ruling party chooses to dissolve Parliament. Each Opposition party has vowed to bring down the Liberals.

Visitors to the Catholic Conscience website — there were more than 8,000 unique users that utilized the site in the month following the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 — are invited to engage in the Catholic voting process by completing four key preliminary steps: becoming responsibly and comprehensively informed about the full range of Catholic social teachings (CST) and the issues prominent in this election; engaging in prayerful reflection about the choice ahead; choosing confidently; and staying actively and civilly engaged with elected representatives — whether or not your preferred candidate prevailed. 

For a voter to enhance his or her knowledge about CST, Catholic Conscience advises consulting The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and examining papal encyclicals and exhortations, notably Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Rerum Novarum and Laudato si.’

To aid the prayer process, the Catholic Conscience website advocates that “the writings of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Alphonsus Liguori on the discernment of spirits can be helpful in making difficult decisions, including voting choices.” Imploring God and the Holy Spirit for guidance on the issues is advised too. 

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Catholic Conscience is unequivocal in its stance that voting “is to be done with confidence.”

“By voting confidently, according to our best lights, with the realization that we cannot control everything ourselves, we can participate freely and at the same time surrender to the will of God. We can assist God in His continuing act of Creation.”

Seven main issues must be considered to vote like a Catholic in Catholic Conscience’s view: The Sanctity of Human Life: from Conception to Natural Death; Stewardship of Creation; Family, Community and the Common Good; An Economy at the Service of All People; The Individual & Society: Rights, Responsibility, & Subsidiarity; Solidarity; Good Government: Democracy, Justice and Peace. 

The website features a PDF document with a platform comparison of where the parties stand broadly on these values and specifically with issues connected with these themes. Examining how these parties view the sanctity of human life, for example, means you are evaluating their positions on abortion, euthanasia, human engineering, population control, etc. 

Marquardt told the Register Catholic leaders, perhaps specifically Calgary Bishop William McGrattan in his role as president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, do have a part to play in inspiring the faithful to become holistic voters.  

“I started Catholic Conscience because I was alarmed that Catholics were being kind of encouraged, channelled into being one- or two-issue voters when there’s a whole lot of things we ought to be considering,” said Marquardt. “There’s no party that is perfectly Catholic or it’s very seldom any party’s perfect with a Catholic. They’ve all got great things. They’ve all got things that we ought to reconsider.

“So, the entire Church, top to bottom, should be engaged. I think our leaders need to encourage us to be more involved and actually not be afraid about speaking out.”

As parties unveil key planks of their 2025 platforms in the coming days, weeks and months, Marquardt will be updating Catholic Conscience to ensure it provides the most timely and impactful information possible for voters. He avidly watches question periods and stays abreast of key documents including federal budgets and auditor general reports.

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Since its emergence on the scene during the 2019 election cycle, Marquardt said engagement with the site has improved “by a factor of four or five” with each successive election cycle. 

There were nearly 25,000 website visits during 2024, and it would be fair to predict year-to-date metrics will look even better in 2025.