Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- More than 8,000 pro-life Canadians attended the 11th annual March for Life from Parliament Hill to the Human Rights Monument to oppose abortion. The march marks the anniversary of the May 14, 1969 bill that allowed abortions.

In 1967, Canadian justice minister Pierre Trudeau presented a bill to legalize abortion and it became law in 1969.

Jim Hughes, Campaign Life Coalition president, told Sun Media that the original abortion bill “opened wide the doors to abortion in Canada."

Hughes said he was enthused by the number of teens and college students attending the march and he said it gave him hope for the future.

While pro-life advocates marched in the nation's capital, they were joined by counterparts at provincial capitols across the country.