So Pierre Poilievre is back in the House of Commons. As the leader of the Official Opposition, it’s appropriate that he should be there to lead the charge on all those issues upon which the Liberals and the Conservatives have such different policies.

But how different are the two parties on issues of the sanctity of life, strengthening of marriage and family and protection of children from a depraved society that has lost its moorings?

Pierre Poilievre supports the status quo on abortion. He supports the status quo on same-sex marriage. He has no intention of pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord.

If Poilievre were simply a Member of Parliament representing a single district, one could yawn over these weaknesses. After all, there are many so-called “Conservative” MPs who have voted in favour of abortion and same-sex marriage. But as the leader of the party, he controls—or at the very least influences—the votes, the speech and the policies of his caucus.

Before he became leader of the CPC, Pierre and all of his colleagues stood by silently when Bill C-4 was rushed through Parliament in a single day. That bill makes criminals of parents who seek to counsel their own children against embarking of fertility-destroying chemicals or gender-reassignment surgery.

So Pierre Poilievre won his seat in the by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot with about 80% of the popular vote. What does that mean for the CPC, and what does it mean for the future of Canada? Why, in fact, was Mr. Poilievre chosen to lead the party? The answers to these questions are troubling to anyone who sincerely cares about the protection of innocent human life, about the defence of children and about the structure and strength of Canadian families.

Let’s go back to the leadership contest that put Mr. Poilievre at the head of the CPC. In 2022, nearly a half million members of the Conservative Party—437,854 to be exact—chose Pierre as party leader. He received 70% of the votes cast on the first and only ballot. Every Conservative member who voted knew—or should have known—that Pierre was pro-abortion and pro-same-sex marriage. Did they choose him in spite of that or because of that? It really doesn’t matter. What that says about the membership of the Conservative Party is that the issues of abortion and gender are not important and do not direct one’s vote.

Pierre Poilievre was chosen—no doubt—because of his aggressive manner and his ability to articulate the issues about which he is passionate.

That’s the same reason that Mr. Poilievre won in the by-election. He was able to run for that seat because MP Damien Kurek, who was re-elected in April of this year with 83% of the vote, gave up his seat in deference to the party leader. The tragedy of that move is that Damien Kurek was considered pro-life but gave up his seat for pro-abortion Poilievre. Apparently, that angle did not appreciably affect the voters in Battle River-Crowfoot.

What this means is that the Conservative Caucus will go into the Fall session with their “elbows up” on the terrible economic policies of Mark Carney’s Liberals. On those issues, we largely agree. However, our position remains that as long as politicians in Ottawa and the voters who put them there continue to tolerate the shedding of innocent blood, we cannot expect God’s blessings on our economy, our healthcare, our housing, our forests, our weather or our justice system.

The CHP continues to endorse the protection of innocent human life, traditional marriage and freedom of speech. We wish Mr. Poilievre well, as he leads his party in the House, but we pray that his heart might be changed regarding these important issues, so that he would deserve the support he now enjoys by default as Leader of the Opposition. May the people of this great country wake up and place the appropriate value on life and family when they vote.