In addition to Oct. 3 mini-rallies outside the riding offices of 58 out of 106 Ontario MPPs, about 200 people protested outside the provincial legislatures in Edmonton. Similar rallies took place in Winnipeg and Halifax in front of the Manitoba and Nova Scotia legislatures, said Alissa Golob, Campaign Life's youth national organizer. The Defund Abortion protests will spread to Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Quebec and maybe more in a spring campaign.

Newfoundland kicked off the fall campaign with a rally in St. John’s on Sept. 28.

The protest puts pressure on government's to stop funding abortions through tax dollars. Under the Canada Health Act, provinces are required to fund medically necessary procedures, and pro-life advocates say abortion doesn't fall under this requirement.

Abortion costs Canadian taxpayers $80 million a year for an elective procedure that is not medically necessary, according to the Defund Abortion web site. “Over 96 per cent of abortions are performed for convenience as a back-up birth control method,” the site says. It also notes the “severe shortage of family doctors, nurses and funding for elder care and for treatment of autistic children across Canada.”

Defund Abortion originated with a rally in front of the Ontario legislature in Toronto in 2011. In 2012, the campaign expanded to include mini-rallies at 44 riding offices. The planned big rally at Queen’s Park had to be postponed because of a hurricane last fall until this past March.

“It was an idea that came from workers at (Campaign Life),” said Golob in an interview from Edmonton. “We decided to put the youth at the forefront of it. Though people of all ages take part, it’s done predominately by the youth.”

The Edmonton rally drew four counter-protesters, all men, Golob said.

“Bro-choice,” she quipped. “Sex without consequences.”

In Ottawa, mini-rallies took place at the riding offices of four MPPs, said Campaign Life lobbyist Johanne Brownrigg.