Just three months ago, Canada’s Liberal government announced that an additional 324 so-called “assault-style” firearms had been added to the list of banned guns established under then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2020. In keeping with the government’s practice to date, affected owners had no advance notice that their lawfully acquired property was prohibited effective immediately, and the guns could no longer be lawfully used, sold, or transferred.
Trudeau advised in January that he was stepping down as Prime Minister, to take effect as soon as the Liberal Party selected a new leader. On March 9, Mark Carney was chosen as his replacement.
It seems Trudeau or his Liberal Party cronies couldn’t resist an appropriate farewell and send-off, with the news, on March 7, that an additional 179 makes and models of centerfire, magazine-fed, and semi-automatic rifles had been immediately added to the list of banned firearms, which now totals over 2,500 specifically identified firearms and devices. As is the case with the other guns and devices already on the list, all existing and future “variants” of the named makes and models are also prohibited, whether or not they are specifically listed as banned.
The latest ban was announced by Rachel Bendayan, Associate Minister of Public Safety, who, consistent with the exaggerated rhetoric and fearmongering that has been a hallmark of the Liberals’ gun ban and confiscation program, stated that “these semi-automatic firearms, which were designed for the battlefield, have absolutely no place in our communities,” and were guns “with sustained rapid-fire capability” “designed specifically to kill as many people as possible in the least amount of time possible.” The new ban, she said, “mark[s] an important step toward a complete and total prohibition of assault-style firearms in Canada.”
“Assault-style firearm” is not a legal definition, but rather, an arbitrary classification. A press release that accompanied the announcement makes that clear, stating that the new list is “composed of firearms with semi-automatic action and sustained rapid-fire capability (tactical/military design with large magazine capacity) that are deemed to be not suitable for hunting or sport shooting. They exceed safe civilian use.” (The actual list of the newly-banned firearms is here.)
Bendayan hinted that this was potentially the last specific listing of banned guns: “It is our hope, our government’s intention, that this be the last discrete listing of assault-style firearms for prohibition.” The government, however, is working on a prospective classification system for manufacturers and importers, in which firearms have to clear an assessment process and obtain a reference number before the guns may be released into the Canadian market, a move previously described as an “evergreen” way of imposing fresh firearm bans in the future.
The same press release indicates that an “Amnesty Order is in place for these newly prohibited firearms until March 1, 2026.” This raises questions about the pre-existing amnesty, due to expire on October 30 of this year, and which presumably applies to all banned firearms and devices besides the ones in this latest tranche. The extended amnesty also seems to coincide with a separate confiscation and compensation timeline, with the release referring to “a future third phase of the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program.”
Commenting on the announcement, Nicolas Johnson, the editor of popular Canadian gun rights site Thegunblog.ca, observed that the “[o]ne piece of good news is that the Liberals cleared up any doubt about their intentions. They confirmed they will keep working to suppress the millions of men, women, and youth who use firearms every day safely and responsibly.”
According to the press release, the confiscation and compensation program, underway since December for firearm businesses, “is showing success with high participation rates and a high number of firearms claims submitted for compensation.” In reality, as of March 2, 2025, the actual number of firearms surrendered is listed as “totaling 7,299.” The government has always been leery of providing a start date and specific details for phase 2 of the program, the confiscation from individual owners. The only reference is a very vague statement that “[p]reparation for extending the compensation program to individual firearms owners is well under way, as the Government builds on the success of the work done with firearm businesses and tests the web portal and systems for individuals to submit claims.”
Despite this big talk, it’s important to remember that the Liberals imposed their ban and confiscation measures five years ago, and the already twice-extended amnesty period expires in just seven months. In addition to the time pressure, the position of many provinces with respect to the program and its implementation (as we’ve described in other alerts, here and here) has ranged from lukewarm to positively hostile.
The Province of Saskatchewan, for instance, responded to the latest round of gun bans in a statement from Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod titled, “Federal Firearms Ban Wrong Approach for Enhancing Public Safety.” The Province had enacted legislation in 2023 that imposes a provincial license requirement and oversight of anyone purporting to act as a firearm “seizure agent” in that jurisdiction. The Minister’s statement indicates that as of early March, “no one from the federal government has applied to be a seizure agent in Saskatchewan.”
The statement points out that the latest expansion of the federal gun ban – a program which has already cost at least C$75 million – will do nothing to address actual crime. It “will only criminalize more lawful firearms owners, impact the heritage of responsible firearms ownership, and create more financial concerns for businesses and individuals already absorbing losses for firearms they cannot sell or use as a result of these ongoing, arbitrary bans. These funds would be better spent supporting initiatives that encourage safe firearms use and target illegal activities involving firearms and smuggling across Canada.”
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent acting as an attaché at Washington’s Canadian embassy appears to confirm that the problem is not so much law-abiding gun owners as criminals with illegal guns, cross-border gun smuggling, and lax enforcement, citing “the case of a gun runner who received a sentence of a few months for dragging a sled full of weapons across the border. ‘Where is the disincentive?’ he asked. ‘In Canada, it’s not a punitive system.’”
Change is afoot; a federal election is expected to be called as soon as next month in Canada. This latest announcement of yet another set of new gun bans seems intended to convince skeptical voters that, years later and all appearances to the contrary, the Liberals have more to show for their failed gun control than $75 million spent on 7,299 guns.
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