(LifeSiteNews) — A Leger poll has found that 80 percent of Canadians support abortion, a result which is disappointing, but not surprising.  

“A majority of Canadians (80%) are in favour of a woman’s right to an abortion if she so chooses, while around one in ten (11%) are opposed, and 9% don’t know where they stand on the matter,” the May poll reported.  

“Women and Canadians 55 years of age or more are more likely to be in favour of the women’s right to choose (respectively 84%),” it continued.  

Notably, the poll misleadingly lists both those “strongly” and “somewhat” opposed to abortion as being pro-life. Meaning the number of true pro-lifers, those the poll lists as being “strongly” opposed to abortion, rests at a mere 6 percent. 

The poll, which has been touted by abortion advocates, was released following the Canadian National March for Life which took place earlier this month.  

However, Campaign Life Coalition’s Jack Fonseca told LifeSiteNews that he believes Leger’s numbers are “inherently biased,” explaining the industry tends “to suppress the true pro-life sentiment within Canada by several points.” 

“One reason for this inaccuracy is the way the question is typically asked by pollsters, which skews the answer given by respondents towards the pro-abortion position,” he added.  

“For example, when pollsters refer to ‘abortion rights’ instead of ‘killing preborn children in the womb,’ it can drastically change how someone might answer,” he continued. “I also believe that pro-life Canadians are less likely to want to speak to pollsters, which contributes to making the poll results less representative of reality.”  

As disappointing as the poll is to the Canadian pro-life movement, it reminds Canadians of the work that remains to be done, especially compared to our American counterparts who have successfully overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortion.   

Why do so many Canadians support abortion? 

According to recent data by Pew Research, just 11% of Canadians were opposed to abortion compared to 36% of Americans. 

Fonseca explained that a large reason for Canada’s situation is the lack of pro-life leadership within the Christian churches.   

“I think the United States has significantly stronger spiritual leadership on the abortion issue than Canada does. This is true in both Catholic and Protestant churches,” he explained.   

“In the U.S. Catholic Church for example, more U.S. bishops are outspoken about the pro-life cause and preach it boldly and frequently than their Canadians counterparts,” Fonseca continued.  

“Consequently, that leadership modeled by American bishops ends up encouraging more American priests to talk about the right to life in U.S. parishes than their Canadian counterparts,” he added. “All of this has the result of making more of the citizenry pro-life. Sadly, where there is no spiritual leadership, as we have in Canada, the people perish.”  

Indeed, pro-life leadership from Catholic bishops has been sorely missing in recent years, especially as Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, a baptized Catholic, continues to make his pro-abortion stance an integral aspect of his platform. While Trudeau does not invoke his Catholic identity the same way U.S. President Joe Biden does, many would hope the bishops in Canada would make it clear that Trudeau’s support for abortion prohibits him from being a member of the Church.

According to Fonseca, another reason for the successful pro-life movement in the United States is their conservative and independent media industry.  

“For decades, they had very popular conservative talk radio shows like Rush Limbaugh, who was pro-life, while Canada had nothing in comparison,” he stated.   

“Canada’s independent/conservative media industry is still in a nascent stage and has only started to become a force in affecting Canadian culture in recent years, notwithstanding LifeSiteNews presence as a voice for the pro-life movement,” Fonseca continued.   

Winning the pro-life battle in Canada  

Similar to other pro-life advocates, Fonseca called for prayer and fasting to end abortion in Canada.  

“Jesus said that some demons cannot be driven out except by fasting,” he stated. “The abortion demon may be one of those. While it’s true we must work harder in witnessing, politics and legal action, none of that will bear fruit unless we also pray and fast much harder.” 

Indeed, Fonseca’s comments echo those of pro-life leaders around the world, who argue that the only way to restore Canada as a pro-life society is through prayer.   

Similarly, just as spiritual leadership is lacking in the pro-life movement, pro-lifers could call on their pastors and bishops to expose the evil of abortion.   

Canadians should not despair of our situation, but rather look to the United States’ relative success as a sign that pro-life legislation is a possibility.   

Changing legislation in Canada may seem an impossible task, especially when both political parties promise abortion on demand and with no limitations.  However, the key to creating a pro-life country is not by changing politics or laws but by changing hearts and minds to recognize the dignity of the unborn and the horrors of abortion.   

As former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate Abby Johnson told Canadian youth at the annual Youth Summit following the March for Life this month, it was prayer and kindness which led to Abby’s own conversion.  

After witnessing the abortion of a 13-week-old fetus on an ultrasound, Abby turned to the nearby office of the Coalition for Life, telling its director Shawn Carney that she could no longer work in the abortion industry.     

It wasn’t political slogans or new legislation that changed Abby’s heart. It was seeing the reality of abortion and the witness of those who came each day to pray for its end outside the Planned Parenthood clinic where she worked.   

In Canada, a similar miracle took place. CLC Atlantic Coordinator Ruth Robert revealed that Clinic 554, a private abortion mill in Fredericton, New Brunswick, unexpectedly closed its doors this past February after a long battle with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government.   

As Shawn Carney explained, the beauty of Canada’s pro-life movement is that we know that we are too small to make a difference on our own and that every pro-life victory is a miracle from God.     

Indeed, there is much work to be done in the Canadian pro-life movement, but the harder the task, the greater the reward!