Tamara Jansen, the Conservative member of Parliament for Cloverdale-Langley City in B.C., announced the birth of her newest grandchild on social media, who appeared to be named after the late U.S. political commentator Charlie Kirk.
“Introducing the latest addition to our family! Little Charlie Kirk Jansen,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
“He’s the 23rd grandchild in the bunch but he is our 7th little American.”
The post was edited on Thursday to remove any reference to the child’s full name, though she still referred to him as “Charlie” while advocating for the maintenance of close ties between Canada and the U.S. despite current political tensions.
“Charlie is part of our American family, just one more reason I never want to give up on the friendship between Canada and the United States,” she wrote.
“We’re going through stormy times right now. Politics gets loud. Tempers flare. Governments change. But our countries have been good neighbours for generations, no matter who was in the Oval Office.”
Many of the comments on Jansen’s Facebook post, which were limited only to people who have followed her page for more than 24 hours, commended the family’s choice to name her grandchild after Kirk, a popular but controversial political figure who founded the organization Turning Point USA. He was assassinated in Utah last year.
Before his death, Kirk had amassed a large global following, mainly comprised of young conservatives who hailed his willingness to initiate dialogue on divisive issues in the U.S. including gun control, abortion and immigration.
But many on the political left criticized Kirk for making inflammatory and offensive comments that often further divided people on those same issues, with some claiming his speech could incite violence against minority groups.
‘Work through it’
Jansen’s comments about preserving the Canada-U.S. relationship came as the two countries continue to quarrel over trade in the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose sweeping tariffs and make Canada the 51st state.
Jansen said in the post that the two countries should continue working to put aside their differences and work together like they have been for generations.
“You don’t throw away a lifelong relationship because things get difficult. You work through it. Because divorce is hard on everyone, especially the kids and grandkids who inherit the fallout,” she wrote.
“The Canada we grew up with believed in strong families, strong communities, and strong friendships with our neighbours. That’s still worth fighting for. And looking at him. … I think it’s worth fighting even harder.”
