Ottawa moves ahead with gun confiscation plan targeting legal gun owners
The Carney government is proceeding with its “assault-style” firearm confiscation program, a plan that has generated significant opposition from gun owners, provinces, and police.
The Carney government is proceeding with its “assault-style” firearm confiscation program, a plan that has generated significant opposition from gun owners, provinces, and police. Critics argue the scheme targets legal citizens and is ineffective in reducing violent crime.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree confirmed this week that the program, initially slated to conclude under an October 2025 amnesty, has been pushed back yet again and is now scheduled for completion “no later than” the end of 2026.
He said Ottawa remains committed to confiscating thousands of firearms prohibited under orders-in-council first issued in 2020.
“We committed to this during the campaign, it’s something that Canadians expect us to do, and we’re very much looking forward to launching it in the near future,” “Anandasangaree told the Toronto Star.
He added that while owners would receive compensation, enforcement of the ban is not voluntary.
The program is projected to cost at least $742.5 million, however, according to a 2019 Liberal government briefing revealed by thegunblog, costs are estimated to balloon to $1.8 billion.
Police leaders have also raised alarms.
Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said the seizures will not make a dent in the violence plaguing Canada’s largest city.
“In the City of Toronto, which is the focal point for a lot of the conversation around gun violence, it will have little to zero impact on firearm crime we’re seeing in the city.
“It is a small number of gang or organized crime members involved in firearm violence in the city, and it is not legal gun owners,” Campbell said.
Opponents argue the federal initiative is a sweeping confiscation scheme targeting responsible, licensed firearm owners while violent crime continues to rise.
Conservative MP Larry Brock pointed out federal statistics showing a 116% increase in violent gun crime since the Liberals took office, despite their firearms restrictions.
Anandasangaree dismissed provincial pushback as obstruction, saying regions that refuse to cooperate are “doing their people a disservice.”
They'll take your firearms Uber the guise of safety, theirs not yours. Because if anyone pays attention the next thing that happens they will use the force of arms to get you to comply. Doesn't matter if they freeze your bank accounts or turn off your Internet, or power. It's all about compliance, freemen are a threat to govts. Good luck Canada, you're going to need it.
People who obey the law will turn in their AR but the gang members and organized criminals will hang on to theirs