Over the course of the election, STAND Canada launched and executed its Speak the Name campaign. Speak the Name was a national, nonpartisan federal election advocacy campaign devoted to securing meaningful policy commitments from Members of Parliament and political aspirants during as the country headed to the polls. Throughout the campaign, STAND Canada advocated for a more humane Canadian foreign policy and built a critical mass of support for a number of well-studied policy recommendations devoted to making genocide and mass atrocity crime prevention a cornerstone of Canadian foreign policy. Perhaps more importantly, Speak the Name worked to inform both voters and candidates alike about the situations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and mass atrocities the world over.

Thanks to our volunteers and chapters across the country – notably our chapters at University of Alberta and McGill University – we garnered meaningful support from candidates representing each of Canada’s national political parties, with the exception of the Conservative Party. However, due to campaign follow-up we were able to reach out to Conservative Members of Parliament. Some notable supporters include The Right Honourable Irwin Cotler, The Right Honourable Bob Rae, The Right Honourable Paul Dewar and a number of candidates and Members of Parliament from sea to shining sea. Each of the candidates that participated in Speak the Name made a meaningful commitment to the prevention of genocide, crimes against humanity and other mass atrocities by subscribing to STAND Canada’s policy recommendations. In the heat of the election each of our supporters championed international human rights issues. As a result of their commitments, STAND Canada committed to bolstering their campaigns and worked with them to highlight their strengths in human rights and international development.

STAND Canada’s Speak the Name campaign has left the organization with parliamentary allies in each of Canada’s national political parties and opened up avenues for us to collaborate with a variety of like minded organizations across Canada. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who volunteered, collaborated and supported our organization throughout the campaign. Thanks to your assistance STAND Canada was able to demonstrate that Canadians care about mass atrocities and human rights issues the world over.

Collin Potter-Bonar

Federal Election Strategy Manager

STAND Canada

cpotterbonar@standcanada.org