Canadian culture of life champions breathed a sigh of relief after the federal government tabled its 2025 budget Nov. 4 which left the privileged charitable status of pro-life non-profits intact.

These groups were on a razor’s edge in the days, weeks and months leading up to the budget as recommendations 429 and 430 within the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance’s (FINA) pre-budget consultations report, released in December 2024, called for the charitable status to be removed for pro-life and advancement of religion non-profits, respectively.

Organizations, concerned individuals and media outlets — The Catholic Register included — sought a clear-cut, unambiguous answer from the Department of Finance on whether pro-life charitable status would be upheld or revoked, but no such response was provided before the budget was tabled.

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On the other hand, a communications officer from the finance department was willing to confirm in the days leading up to the budget's release that “the Government of Canada is not considering amending the Income Tax Act to remove the advancement of religion as a qualifying charitable purpose or to revoke the status of faith-based charities.”

Jeff Gunnarson, the national president of Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of the Canadian pro-life movement, expressed on Oct. 30 that he was “deeply alarmed” by the department not answering the Register’s queries. Six days later, he got to deliver a triumphant message.

“The Liberal government was right to listen to ordinary citizens and faith leaders and ultimately reject these outrageous recommendations,” said Gunnarson. “Thanks be to God; Canada lives to see another day without a dark cloud of persecution hanging over religious and pro-life organizations.

“This victory belongs to the concerned citizens across Canada who took the time to sign a petition or write a letter to their MP or the Finance Minister. This proves that when enough people speak out, good things can happen.”

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Pregnancy Care Canada (PCC), a Christ-centred organization that supports 80 pregnancy centres across the nation with resources, education and support, played a key role in presenting arguments in favour of safeguarding religious and pro-life charitable status.

In a submission to FINA, PCC executive director Laura Lewis advocated that “the government ensure charitable status continues for organizations offering medically accurate pregnancy care support, including those that do not provide or refer for abortions.”

Lewis submitted this call to action not only in response to recommendation 429, but also to proposed legislative changes in October 2024 that called for charitable status to be yanked from pregnancy care organizations that do not refer for or provide abortions. In the same filing, she declared that “religious charities play a vital role in Canadian social support systems.”

The office of Liberal MP Karina Gould, the current FINA chair, recognized the role religious charities play in an email to Christian Reformed Church pastor Al Postma, which was forwarded to the Register. Gould’s team wrote: “We respect the role faith-based organizations play in communities across the country, and religious organizations continue to enjoy charitable status under the same rules that apply to all charities in Canada.”

In that same letter to Postma, it was stressed that the two contentious recommendations were “made in 2024 during the previous session of Parliament, under the previous government and prior to MP Gould being a member of the Standing Committee on Finance. As such, MP Gould was not involved in its development.”

The eyes of the pro-life community will be on the 2026 FINA pre-budget consultations report, expected before the Christmas parliamentary recess. If there are no policy recommendations advocating for the termination of pro-life and advancement of religion charities, this could add credence to Gould’s office’s conviction that this is a different Liberal government under Mark Carney, on this matter at least, compared to his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

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Jack Fonseca, Campaign Life’s political director, is calling for the pro-life community to remain attentive.

“This was likely a trial balloon to gauge public reaction,” he said. “When Canadians raised a loud and unified protest, the attack was withdrawn. But we must remain on guard against future attempts by unethical governments to undermine the very foundation of civil society.”