Alissa Golob
On March 13 Jonathon Van Maren, of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, and Alissa Golob, of Campaign Life Coalition, went on a cross-country speaking tour to promote their No2Trudeau campaign. The tour was designed to activate local pro-lifers to get involved in the distribution of one million postcards in 20 ridings across Canada which targeted Justin Trudeau and his extreme pro-abortion position that do not even permit Liberal candidates from holding pro-life views. The front of the postcard contained a picture of Trudeau’s face beside a 10-week aborted fetus, on the back were two more photos and a description of Trudeau’s stance in support of abortion until birth.
This campaign involved hundreds of volunteers in cities across Canada, many of whom were young people who went door-to-door to deliver the postcards throughout the summer months.
Golob told The Interim that there was been much media coverage of the reaction against the postcard campaign and that CLC has received hundreds of calls from upset homeowners. She said, “a lot of people call us because they don’t like the postcards but after talking to them I would say they were positive, they completely understood where we were coming from.” Golob explained, “for example, I had one woman who was praising me about how compassionate I was and how it is so good that young people are standing up for something and she called originally angry.”
According to Golob, compared to the number of postcards that were delivered, less than one per cent actually called to either criticize about the use of graphic images or to share how the postcards have made them change their vote in the upcoming election.
When asked if the controversy surrounding the use of graphic images on the post cards was beneficial or counterproductive, Golob believed it to be a good thing, stating, “it has been amazing, we’ve had people jump to our defence that we never knew before, pro-lifers coming out of the woodwork which is all about revitalizing that base. We’ve had people describe the abortion pictures found on the postcards as horrific, violent and all these other adjectives where we can turn around and say well this is what happens in an abortion so you are also saying abortion is violent.” Golob said, “it is kind of healing the cognitive dissonance that occurs, that goes along with building the prolife consensus.”
She described the campaign as positive for the movement and for people who are now informed about Trudeau’s position on abortion.
In parts of the country, rather than having volunteers deliver the flyers by hand, a shipment of postcards were sent to Canada Post which were meant to be delivered with regular mail. There was a case in Saskatoon where Canada Post employees refused to deliver the postcards claiming the material was offensive. At first the employees who refused to deliver the flyers were asked to go home but were then allowed to come back to work the next day. In the end the postcards were delivered by individuals who did not object to the material.
Now that the federal election has been called No2Trudeau volunteers are no longer able to distribute postcards due to third-party Elections Canada regulations. Nonetheless Golob still encourages the public to show their support for the No2Trudeau campaign by posting videos, tweeting, or bringing up the issue on their own in various media sites or through conversation.
