Alberta invokes Sovereignty Act motion to stop federal gun confiscation
Alberta is launching its toughest fight yet against the Liberal government’s gun confiscation program, invoking the Sovereignty Act.
Alberta is launching its toughest fight yet against the Liberal government’s gun confiscation program, invoking the Sovereignty Act to legally order provincial police, including the RCMP, to refuse to enforce Ottawa’s firearm seizure scheme.
While Tuesday’s news release highlighted the motion defending law-abiding firearms owners, it also focused on Alberta’s new castle law. The motion must still be debated and passed by the legislature before taking effect.
“It’s time for Ottawa to stop targeting the wrong people. Albertans have the right to protect their homes and their families. No one should hesitate to defend themselves when faced with a threat at their own doorway,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. “Law-abiding citizens, hunters, farmers and sport shooters are not the source of violent crime, yet the federal government wants to confiscate their property while illegal guns pour across our borders. Alberta will not stand by while responsible gun owners are treated like criminals.”
Alberta’s Justice Minister Mickey Amery similarly connected the rights of legal gun ownership and self-defence.
“When someone breaks into your home, the law recognizes that you have enhanced rights to protect yourself and your family. Alberta is making that principle unmistakably clear: lawful, reasonable self-defence will be respected, not criminalized,” he said.
Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis highlighted a fact that police organizations have been emphasizing for years: law-abiding gun owners are not the ones committing crimes.
“The illegal guns that you see being used by criminals are typically being smuggled in from the United States. The federal government should help us strengthen the border, helping us to stop illegal guns from coming into Canada. This would further enhance safety and security for the people of Alberta and Canada as opposed to going after lawful gun owners,” he said.
However, True North previously revealed that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget pledged to spend more money confiscating legal firearms next year than on NATO and border enforcement combined.
The Liberals previously extended the firearm amnesty for the third time in five years, despite rolling out their buyback program in Cape Breton a month earlier.
The rollout was a disaster, costing taxpayers nearly $7,000 per confiscated firearm, with only 22 firearms collected.
The Alberta government estimates the firearm compensation program will cost more than $750 million.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after the announcement, Amery said he “will not hesitate to use every legal tool at his discretion to protect Albertans from misguided and expensive federal policies, and to respect every single Albertans’ ability to protect themselves and their families within their homes.”
The Alberta government noted there are 381,900 Possession and Acquisition Licenses (PALs) in Alberta. Amery revealed that the revocation rate—licenses revoked due to criminal charges or other concerns—is a tiny fraction of one per cent.
“Nine out of ten crimes involving guns involve a gun that is acquired illegally,” he said.
He reaffirmed Alberta’s willingness to work with any government to areduce crime, but argued that attacking legal firearm owners would have no effect.
“Where a policy is good, and it is good for Alberta, we will certainly stand by it and will be great partners in confederation and federation. But, where something is inappropriately targeting and disproportionately creating criminals out of law-abiding Albertans, we will stand opposed through and through,” said Amery.
Alberta continues to call on Ottawa to abandon the buyback entirely and instead address illegal firearms smuggling and violent repeat offenders — an approach now echoed by multiple provinces and police agencies.
The province said the firearms motion considers the Alberta Bill of Rights, the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Criminal Code.
The self-defence protocol was also released and became effective on November 28, 2025.