In the wake of the political assassination of Christian conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University Sept. 10, and the arrest of his alleged shooter, Canada’s pro-life community is commemorating the legacy of one of the most prominent champions of the preborn worldwide.

Campaign Life Coalition national president Jeff Gunnarson praised the late 31-year-old for his fearless witness.

“Charlie Kirk was a bright light who courageously challenged many of the darknesses of today by means of his strong faith in God, rational discourse and his belief that the values of life and liberty were worth fighting for — and even dying for,” stated Gunnarson. “He lived what he believed to the very end.”

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Kirk civilly and spiritedly engaged in debates with many atheists and abortion activists during his travels to hundreds of universities and colleges throughout the United States in recent years. The non-profit organization he founded in 2012, Turning Point USA, which advocates for conservative politics to be welcomed and embraced on school campuses, now boasts 3,500 individual chapters.

The longtime resident of Arizona also shared his messages with an international audience. Notably, Kirk debated with Oxford and Cambridge Union students in the United Kingdom on a myriad of cultural issues, notably abortion, this past May.

He was gunned down while speaking to a crowd of students at the university in Orem, Utah. U.S. President Donald Trump, on Fox News this morning, announced that an unidentified suspect was in custody and had been found with the help of family members. Hours later Utah Gov. Spencer Cox identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah who was not a student at Utah Valley University.

Richard Dur, the executive director of Prolife Alberta, was also struck by Kirk’s resoluteness.

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“Charlie Kirk stood firm in the storm with the faith of a man who knew whom he served, unafraid of those who opposed him,” said Dur.  “His very name means ‘freedom’ and ‘Church’ — and in that spirit he fought the good fight for the smallest and the weakest, for truth and for light, until the end. In the words Henry Hyde once spoke of all pro-life warriors, may the countless children he defended on Earth from abortion welcome him in Heaven, pleading for him before the Judgment Seat of God: ‘Spare him, because he loved us.’ May he receive the martyr’s crown.”

The Saskatchewan Pro-life Association also paid tribute to Kirk, saying in a Facebook post: “Thank God for your faith and courage, Charlie, and thank you for lighting the way for us to continue the fight for life. God speed and rest easy, we will carry forward your mantle.”

In addition to his campus activism and presence on many social platforms, Kirk was an author and carried out a turn-out-the-vote operation that helped return Donald Trump to the White House. One of the executive actions Trump ordered in his first week as the 47th president was the pardoning of 23 incarcerated pro-life activists.

Gunnarson said that one of the doctrines that drove Kirk’s advocacy for the unborn was the “principle that violence in the womb leads to violence outside the womb — in our homes, streets, campuses and cities. Sadly, this is what we’re seeing today.”

Campaign Life also called for peace and to “beg God for a spirit of forgiveness for everyone reeling from this tragedy. Let us commend Charlie’s soul to God’s mercy and pray for his widow, Erika, and their two young children.

“Finally, let us find the courage to take up Charlie’s fallen flag and, inspired by his heroic example, continue working tirelessly to end the scourge of abortion.”

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Numerous voices were quick to praise the shooter, however, among them Ruth Marshall, a University of Toronto associate professor of religious studies and political science, whose vile comments saw her placed on leave by the university. In a post, she said "Shooting is honestly too good for so many of you fascist (expletive)." The post was reportedly deleted. 

“The university took immediate action upon learning of the concerning social media posts of a University of Toronto professor,” said a statement from U of T, Postmedia reported. “The faculty member is now on leave and not on campus. The matter is being looked into and the university will not be commenting further.”    
In the United States, MSNBC has also reportedly fired its senior political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested on air that Kirk's own rhetoric may have contributed to his death. He also speculated that perhaps the bullet came from a supporter in the crowd "shooting their gun off in celebration."