Majority of Canadians Prefer Focus on Illegal Firearms Over Ownership Ban: Poll

The majority of Canadians believe Ottawa should focus on stopping illegal firearm smuggling rather than pursuing its ownership ban and buyback program, a recent poll from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation suggests.

The May 22 Leger survey commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation indicates that 55 percent of Canadians believe the most effective way to reduce gun crime is to stop illegal firearm smuggling from the United States into Canada.

Meanwhile, 26 percent believe that banning the sale and ownership of many firearms and using the government’s buyback program is the most effective strategy, the poll says. Eight percent of Canadians feel that neither method is effective, and 11 percent are unsure of the best response.

“The poll shows that Canadians know the real problem is illegal gun smuggling, not firearms owned by licenced Canadian gun owners,” Gage Haubrich, Canadian Taxpayers Federation prairie director, said in a May 29 statement, adding that that it would be a “waste of money” to spend potentially billions of dollars on a program Canadians feel is ineffective.

“Law-enforcement experts are telling Ottawa to focus on smugglers instead of licenced gun owners and this poll shows Canadians agree with that commonsense reality,” Haubrich said.

The Liberal government has said that banning certain types of guns is important to ensure public safety.

“These measures will remove dangerous firearms designed for military use from our communities, and help ensure that Canadian families and communities no longer suffer from gun violence,” the government said at the time the new restrictions were introduced in 2020.

“Prohibiting these firearms immediately freezes the market in Canada for the most prevalent assault-style firearms that are not suitable for hunting or sports shooting purposes,” said then-Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.

The Toronto Police Association said in an April letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre that there is “no evidence” that gun bans effectively reduce gun violence, and that 85 percent of firearms seized by Toronto police can be traced to the United States.

The National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP members, also said that the buyback program does not address criminal activity, illegal firearms proliferation, gang crime, illegal guns crossing the border, or the criminal use of firearms.

“In fact, it diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms,” the National Police Federation said.

Firearms Buyback Program

In May 2020, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government was issuing a ban on more than 1,500 models of “assault-style” firearms. The Liberal government said it would compensate gun owners under a federal buyback program.

The ban was implemented following a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April 2020 that left 22 people dead, in which the shooter had acquired five firearms illegally, including three that were imported from the United States.

In May 2020, the government put an amnesty in place until April 30, 2022, that allowed gun owners and businesses to come into compliance with the ban by disposing of their prohibited firearms. The amnesty was extended in March 2022 for an additional 18 months until Oct. 30, 2023, and was then extended again until Oct. 30, 2025.

On Dec. 5, 2024, the federal government prohibited an additional 324 models of “assault-style” firearms, and 179 more were prohibited on March 7 this year. Since 2020, more than 2,500 models of firearms have been categorized as prohibited.

During his election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to “reinvigorate” the firearms buyback program while announcing his plan to tighten federal bail laws.

“You can’t be serious about being tough on crime if you’re not willing to be tough on guns,” he said during a news conference on April 10.

On public safety, Carney also promised increased resources for the Canada Border Services Agency to combat gun smuggling from the United States into Canada, including 1,000 more agents, new scanners, and additional K-9 teams.

In the May 27 throne speech delivered by King Charles III, the federal government vowed to stop illegal guns and drugs from entering the country while also “protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners and indigenous peoples’ long-standing hunting traditions.” The speech did not mention the gun buyback, though the federal program is expected to start for individuals this spring.

Matthew Horwood and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.