Ad Standards rules Prolife Alberta campaign violated ethics code

Canada's advertising watchdog has ruled that an online campaign by Prolife Alberta violated the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, finding the ad relied on fear and denigrated politicians.

The complaint was filed on June 20, 2025, over a Facebook advertisement showing the Grim Reaper with text asking, "HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH OF CANADA'S PRO-DEATH CULTURE?" The ad claimed politicians avoid discussing abortion because they fear losing power and status.

An Ad Standards council found the ad's messaging "goes far beyond what is acceptable" by implying politicians were akin to the Grim Reaper and actively killing unborn fetuses. The majority also concluded references to politicians losing their grip on power suggested they were delusional or unfit for office.

The ad ran on Facebook and Instagram between March and December last year, receiving between 16,000 and 19,000 impressions. It violated clauses 11, 14(c), and 14(d) of the advertising code—clauses barring ads from playing on fears to mislead, denigrating groups including professions, and offending public decency standards.

Prolife Alberta executive director Richard Dur rejected the decision in an email to Postmedia, stating the organization "categorically rejects" the ruling. "Ad Standards has no jurisdiction over political speech, and our ad was unmistakably political," he wrote. "Prolife Alberta will continue to speak plainly about these issues, whether or not an over-eager private regulator imagines it has the authority to police political expression."