Several groups offer guidance as you ponder April 28 federal election

Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is one of several national Christian groups offering guidance on how to prepare for and participate in the April 28 federal election.

CPJ’s first ‘Faithful Election Conversation’ of their 2025 Election Tour was held at Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church in Surrey March 31.

New Life Christian Reformed Church in Abbotsford will host another tour stop tomorrow night (April 4, 7 – 8:30 pm).

Brian Woudstra, who attends Fleetwood and helped set up the CPJ gathering, reported to his fellow church members that the speakers focused mainly on the three issues which they will highlight nation-wide:

Last night, we hosted the first stop on CPJ’s ‘Pre-Election Tour’ at our church. During the presentation, we were encouraged to consider climate justice, poverty eradication and refugee / migrant rights as we vote in our upcoming federal election.

Those three themes are considered in some detail in CPJ’s 2025 Election Bulletin. Here are brief portions of each:

• Addressing Poverty and Inequity in Canada

Nearly everyone in Canada has real concerns about their ability to provide for themselves and their loved ones. However, persistent trends show us that some people are more likely to experience poverty – and to experience it more deeply.

Anyone looking to address poverty effectively in Canada must address the realities people are facing today and the underlying causes of systemic poverty and inequity. . . .

• Tackling Canada’s Polycrisis through Climate Justice

This election is defined by a ‘polycrisis,’ where overlapping crises – an affordability crunch, looming trade threats from the United States, and the existential threat of the climate crisis – compound one another.

To safeguard our sovereignty and take the desperately needed actions necessary for climate justice, we must embark on nation-building projects that boost the economy as well as do our fair share in reducing emissions, while ensuring no one is left behind.

Recently, climate policies have been scapegoated for exacerbating the affordability crisis – when, in reality, our over-reliance on fossil fuels is to blame. . . .

• Protecting Refugee and Migrant Rights in Canada

Since the last federal election, protections for the rights of refugees and migrants have been dealt several concerning blows. Not only has public support for refugees decreased and policies that protect refugees been abandoned, but public opinion polls show that Canadians are turning the blame for everyday hardships onto refugees – when, in reality, they are not causing these problems, but instead are especially vulnerable to them. . . .

The Election Bulletin also includes questions for your candidates and evaluation tips.

ARPA Canada

ARPA Canada (Association for Reformed Political Action) will be hosting a weekly podcast (two are up already) and, like CPJ, urges its supporters to focus on certain issues.

They state on their 2025 Canadian Election page:

Every Tuesday during the campaign, we will release a short podcast episode discussing the election campaign, chatting about the issues at stake in the election, and doing all that we can to educate, equip and encourage Reformed Christians in Canada to cast an informed ballot.

As the federal parties head into an election campaign, join us in asking them questions on various issues of concern to Reformed Christians in Canada. Some key issues, relevant history and example questions are listed below.

Go here to see more detail; these are the issues:

• Euthanasia (Medical Assistance in Dying / MAiD)
• Pornography
• Abortion
• Hate Speech
• Sex / Gender

A three-page handout briefly offers background, recommendation, talking points and questions regarding each issue.

ARPA Canada has two offices, one in Ottawa and one in the Fraser Valley.

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has prepared some guidelines for participating in the current election, including a useful three-page guide to hosting an all-candidates meetings, stressing that “these non-partisan events can be seen as a gift to the broader community.”

Here is the content on the Federal Election 2025 page:

Voting is one way Christians contribute to society and the public good and show love and care for our neighbours.

• • Election 2025 brochure: Praying during elections, voting matters, what churches can and cannot do, how to talk with candidates. A brochure you can copy and share with your church and networks (2 pages, 2025) →en français
  • Issue summaries 2025 (each is a single-page PDF)
    • Protecting kids online
    • How euthanasia (MAiD) is impacting Canadians
  • What churches can and cannot do during an election campaign: Download 2-page PDF and/or click image below to watch 2-minute video)
  • How to host an all-candidates meeting (3 pages, 2025)
  • Call to prayer
  • Slides for projection taken from the brochure above. Useful to display before a church gathering or worship service (What churches can do, Voting matters, Pray during the election in jpg format 1920×1080 px)
  • Find the candidates in your riding (at elections.ca)
  • When and where to vote (at elections.ca)

Go here for the EFC’s Faith, Voting and Political Engagement brochure.

KAIROS

The Canadian Council of Churches does not offer any guidance on the election process, but KAIROS – which “unites Canadian churches and religious organizations in a faithful ecumenical response to the call to ‘do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8)” – has developed a 2025 Federal Election Toolkit.

It begins:

Canadians go to the polls Monday April 28. The stakes could not be higher.

Canada faces economic aggression and threats to sovereignty from our powerful neighbour, whose administration is rapidly transforming the global socio-political landscape.

These shifts embolden authoritarian leaders, regimes and movements, which help escalate intersecting crises such as wars, genocide, climate change and environmental degradation, racism, poverty, migration and gender-based violence.

We are seeing a rise in human rights violations, impunity and militarization under the guise of ‘defense’ – and drastic cuts to international aid for impacted communities. Civil society organizations face shrinking operational space, while human rights defenders and environmentalists are at growing risk of verbal and physical assault, including death threats.

In Canada, undocumented and documented migrant workers remain at risk of exploitation and deportation.

Canada’s progress on the journey towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples remains painfully slow.

During this election we ask: how will Canada address these global and internal challenges?

KAIROS encourages Canadians like you to engage with candidates on critical justice issues. Candidates don’t often hear about reconciliation, climate action, international assistance, debt cancelation or migrant rights at the doorstep.

This election toolkit provides an overview of KAIROS’ key concerns, suggested questions for candidates, background, and best practices for effective engagement. Our goal is to foster meaningful discussions when possible and ensure that issues of human rights and ecological justice are central in this election.

Go here for the full toolkit.

[April 8 note: the Canadian Council of Churches posted a 2025 Federal Election Guide today.]

Catholics

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops does not offer specific voting guidelines, but in a March 22 B.C. Catholic News article, CCCB president, Bishop William McGrattan, urged Catholics to keep the church’s social teaching top of mind this election:

Catholics, specifically, are encouraged to resist being one- or two-issue voters by meditating upon all seven core principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST):

• • Dignity of the human person from conception to natural death; 
  • Call to family, community and participation;
  • Rights and responsibilities;
  • Option for the poor and vulnerable;
  • The dignity of work and the rights of workers;
  • Solidarity;
  • Care for God’s Creation.

McGrattan said:

I think it is important to realize we do have this freedom and also the responsibility to exercise a decision that will support the country in moving forward in a way that respects common values. . . .

Faith is not a political position, but faith provides values that we need to be reflecting in our discussions and in making decisions regarding the future of a country and a society

Go here for the full article.

Other elements

Here are a couple of other groups offering guidance:

• Mennonite Central Committee: Every Action Counts
• Presbyterian Church in Canada: Justice & Hope for All: A 2025 Federal Election Resource

And there is a specifically Christian political party – the Christian Heritage Party of Canada – which will be running candidates in some, but far from all, ridings across Canada. Thus far, there are three candidates in BC, two in northern BC and one on the Island.

Broadview posted an interesting article March 29 about the personal faith of the four major party leaders:

• Mark Carney (Liberal): “Carney, it turns out, is that rare kind of Roman Catholic – one who actually attends mass.”
• Pierre Poilievre (Conservative): “Raised Roman Catholic, he invokes God in speeches, yet little is known about his personal spirituality”;
• Jagmeet Singh (NDP): “Singh’s political ethos is rooted in Sikh principles, particularly the concept of Ik Oankar – the belief in universal oneness.”
• Elizabeth May (Green): “A self-described ‘aspiring theologian,’ she studied for the Anglican priesthood before turning to politics.”