National Pastor joins Almost 30 Faith Leaders' Shared Call for Prioritizing Peace
The Right Honourable Mark Carney
CC: Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Official Opposition, Conservative Party of Canada
Yves-François Blanchet, Chef du Bloc Québécois
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
Don Davies, Parliamentary Leader of the NDP
Dear Prime Minister Carney,
We, as Christian faith leaders and civil society organizations, are writing to you during International Disarmament Week to express our deep concern over the government’s approach to securing Canada’s economic and national security. While we are also concerned about our own national security, our hearts break considering all of those impacted by global conflict, and those who will continue to be impacted as conflicts increase. War diminishes the human dignity inherent in each person, both those who experience violence and those who are asked to carry it out.
We write to remind you of the core principle from the moral foundation of our Christian faith: that we are called to love our neighbours, at home and globally, especially those who are vulnerable or marginalized. We also know that throughout history, our well-being and safety as a nation has been rooted in the relationships we cultivate with others.
While the challenges currently facing Canada and your government are daunting, the almost exclusive focus and investment in militarization and trade, at the cost of conflict prevention, care for creation, and support for poverty reduction across the world, does not reflect our values or priorities as communities of faith. At such a crucial time, we urge your government to move away from a dependence on weapons of destruction and policies of self-interest only for Canadians and towards actions that are based on the mutual flourishing of all.
Around the world, we are seeing increasing conflict, hunger, displacement and worsening impacts of climate change. We are concerned about these issues because we care about our neighbours, both near and far. In this context, security for Canadians means so much more than an expanded capacity to wage war. A comprehensive understanding of security must include consideration of health, affordability, and food security, including the overarching impacts of climate change.
Increased investment in the military is not the way to achieve this kind of security. Even as we seek to lower our dependence on the United States, any approach that focuses only on military solutions without incorporating conflict prevention, diplomacy and peacebuilding at all levels will only make us less safe and will harm our values as a nation.
Rather, these challenges are an opportunity for Canada to make a sustained investment in solutions that integrate peace and build on the multitude of tools at our disposal to achieve an all-encompassing approach to security that meaningfully considers how to build a peaceful future for everyone.
Together, we urge you to provide the government with a mandate to focus on a comprehensive definition of security, expressed in policy and practice, with the recognition that conflict prevention supports Canada’s economic and security goals. We also ask that you ensure that part of Canada’s defence spending be explicitly allocated for non-violent conflict prevention efforts, climate monitoring systems and support for democratization and stabilization while strengthening institutions and actors that contribute to the conditions necessary for peace. We ask that you prioritize diplomatic and peacebuilding efforts over expanding military spending.
We also ask you to ensure that our economy is not dependent on weapons production and exports that will harm others in conflicts far from us, especially without adequate accountability regulations. As Christians, we cannot in good conscience allow our pensions and economic security to be based on the suffering of others.
In the face of uncertainty, investing in conflict prevention is the responsible choice. According to the International Monetary Fund, conflict prevention is 100 times more cost-effective than crisis response. Not only is it more cost-effective but also part of the responsibility we hold to love our neighbours and to work for peace and human flourishing.
While other Northern economies continue to retreat from development, diplomacy and peacebuilding efforts, Canada can lead. Please consider policies that reflect care for our global neighbours and hope for our shared future, not fear and division.
Sincerely,
ADRA Canada
Steve Matthews, CEO
Alongside Hope
Will Postma, Executive Director
Anglican Church of Canada
Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate
Be In Christ Church of Canada
Todd Lester, Executive Director
Canadian Baptist Ministries
Jennifer Lau, Executive Director
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches
Cam Stuart, National Director
Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Andy Harrington, Executive Director
Canadian Friends Service Committee
Jennifer Preston, Secretary General
Canadian Jesuits International
Jenny Cafiso, Executive Director
Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Fran McQuail, Clerks Table
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Canada
Rev. Jean-Daniel Ó Donncada, National Pastor
Citizens for Public Justice
Willard Metzger, Executive Director
Development and Peace-Caritas Canada
Stéphane Vinhas, Interim Executive Director
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Rev. Dr. Larry Kochendorfer, National Bishop
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
Emery Plett, Executive Director
Kairos Canada
Tania Principe, Executive Director
Kentro Christian Network
Laura Solberg, Executive Director
Mennonite Action Canada
Laura Morlock, Co-Director
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Kenneth Kim, Executive Director
Mennonite Church Canada
Geraldine Balzer, Moderator
Mennonite World Conference
Rev. César García, General Secretary
Presbyterian World Service & Development
Guy Smagghe, Director
Project Ploughshares
Paul Heidebrecht, Director
The Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Rev. Lara Scholey, Moderator of the 2026 General Assembly
The Salvation Army
Commissioner Lee Graves, Territorial Commander
The United Church of Canada
The Right Reverend Kimberly Heath, Moderator
Tearfund Canada
Trisha Okenge, CEO/Executive Director
World Renew
Peter Timmerman, Executive Director
World Vision Canada
Allison Alley, CEO