End firearm confiscation program

AI summary

Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to scrap the firearm confiscation program and reallocate its resources to targeting criminals and illegal firearm smuggling. The government responds that it is removing prohibited assault-style firearms, operating a compensation program, and enhancing border and enforcement efforts.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA WHEREAS The firearm confiscation pilot program in Cape Breton only collected 25 firearms from 16 people and costing taxpayers $150,000. Premiers from Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador alongside Canada's largest police organizations have been clear they do not support this failing program. With a nearly $1 billion price tag, only $242 million, nearly a third of the program is going to compensate licensed firearms owners, while the rest goes to bureaucracy. THEREFORE We, the undersigned citizens and permanent residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to end its assault on law- abiding firearms-owners by scrapping the massively expensive and ineffective firearm confiscation program and focus its attention and resources towards criminals and illegal-firearm smuggling.

Government response

Response by the Minister of Public Safety Signed by The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, P.C., K.C., M.P. The Government of Canada is taking action through its comprehensive approach to address firearms violence and combat crime. This approach includes removing assault-style firearms from Canadian communities, investing in border security and law enforcement capacity to reduce firearms smuggling and trafficking, addressing firearms violence, including in situations of intimate partner and family violence, and supporting intervention and prevention programs addressing gun and gang violence. Since May 2020, over 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms have been prohibited. These prohibited assault-style firearms can no longer be legally possessed, sold in, or imported into Canada and can only be transferred or transported under limited circumstances. These firearms with semi-automatic action and sustained rapid-fire capability are not suitable for hunting or sport shooting and exceed safe civilian use. The Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) provides an opportunity for individual firearm owners and businesses to seek compensation while coming into compliance with the law. While participation to obtain compensation through the program was voluntary, compliance with the law is not. Individuals who did not declare their prohibited firearms during the declaration period must dispose of or permanently deactivate them before the amnesty period ends. The Government is committed to this program being as cost-effective and efficient as possible, while promoting public safety by removing these dangerous firearms from communities. A total of $248.6 million is allocated for compensation for both individuals and businesses. The ASFCP for individuals opened with a declaration period that began on January 19, 2026, and ran until March 31, 2026. As of June 8, 2026, more than 68,000 assault-style firearms have been declared by over 38,000 firearms owners across Canada. The Program is communicating directly with participants to give instructions on how to finalize their claims and then permanently deactivate or make an appointment to turn in their firearms for compensation. Collection and compensation processes are expected to run until early fall 2026 in various parts of the country. Collection is being undertaken by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, local police or secured mobile collection units. While some police services have chosen not to participate in the administration of assault-style firearm collection under the compensation program, this does not impact the role of all law policing agencies to enforce the law on possession of prohibited firearms. The compensation program for businesses ran successfully between November 2024 and April 2025 for firearms prohibited in May 2020. During this phase, over 12,000 firearms were collected and destroyed with over $22 million in compensation paid to businesses. The program re-opened to eligible businesses in April 2026 to include firearms prohibited in December 2024 and March 2025, and continued to accept those prohibited in May 2020, and the claims period has now closed. As of June 8, 2026, over 74,000 firearms have been claimed by businesses across both phases. Results of the ASFCP for individuals and businesses will be reported at the Program’s conclusion.