Budget 2026 leaves pro-life pregnancy centres untouched – Press Release
OTTAWA – In the wake of pressure from life-affirming groups, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) is happy to see the federal government’s decision not to follow the recommendation of Canada’s abortion lobby to penalize pro-life pregnancy care centres in Budget 2026 (“Masters of Our Destiny”), tabled this afternoon.
Budget Recommendation 65, submitted by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and adopted by the House of Commons Finance Committee in its September 22 report, called for amendments to the Income Tax Act requiring greater transparency from so-called “anti-abortion pregnancy centres” in order to “mitigate harm to clients and prevent the misuse of charitable status.”
“We thank God,” said CLC’s National President Jeff Gunnarson. “This is welcome news for the thousands of women and families who rely on pregnancy care centres across Canada.”
Gunnarson said that Recommendation 65 was never about genuine transparency. “It was an ideologically motivated attempt to single out and burden pro-life charities simply because they offer women real alternatives to abortion—including material support, parenting resources, and adoption connections. We are pleased the government has chosen not to advance it.”
Pregnancy care centres provide practical, non-coercive help to pregnant women in crisis. Last year alone, centres affiliated with Pregnancy Care Canada reported more than 54,000 client visits, including material assistance such as diapers, formula, and clothing for nearly 9,000 clients. These centres operate under established standards of care and disclose the scope of their services.
Pete Baklinski, CLC’s Communications Director, pointed out that the recommendation did not treat pro-life pregnancy care centres as the community-building and life-affirming charities serving vulnerable women that they are, but as a problem to be regulated.
“Recommendation 65 was simply slanderous and based on provable lies spread by the abortion lobby. Harm was simply assumed and misuse was treated as a given—with no finding of fact and no hearing.”
“Campaign Life Coalition calls on future finance committees to reject recommendations from the abortion lobby intended to harm genuine charities that provide Canadian mothers and fathers the support they need,” Baklinski added.
The Budget can be accessed here: https://budget.canada.ca/2026/home-accueil-en.html