Ottawa Extends Amnesty on ‘Assault-Style’ Firearms Ban for Another Two Years

Hunting rifles are displayed at a store in Ottawa in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

The federal government has announced another extension of the amnesty on what it calls “assault-style” firearms prohibited in 2020. The extension will be in effect until after the next federal election.

In a website update from Canada Public Safety on Oct. 22, Ottawa said that the current Amnesty Order which was scheduled to expire on Oct. 30 will now be extended by an additional two years, until Oct. 30, 2025. The next federal election must be held by Oct. 20, 2025, although it can be called earlier.

The first amnesty was issued on May 1, 2020, at the same time Ottawa announced more than 1,500 models of guns would be banned after the government deemed them “assault-style” firearms. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the ban following a deadly mass shooting in which a gunman posing as an RCMP officer killed 22 people in Nova Scotia.

The gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, had several semi-automatic handguns and rifles which were not obtained legally. The gunman didn’t have a Canadian firearms license and was suspected to have smuggled the guns in from the United States.

Since the original list of banned guns was announced, another 500 more variants have also been prohibited, meaning the firearms cannot be legally used, imported, or sold in Canada. The amnesty allows gun owners to store the firearms safely, for example with a trigger lock and in a locked cabinet.

The legislation was paired with a buyback program that proposed to compensate owners for firearms that were legally purchased but ultimately confiscated under the ban.

In October 2022, the government put a freeze on the transfer and importation of handguns, which effectively bans handgun ownership in Canada.

The first amnesty was scheduled to expire in the spring of 2022 but was extended until October 2023, with the Liberal government saying a promised buyback program is still under development.

In a statement, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that Ottawa is “committed to putting in place a firearms buyback program that will allow law abiding gun owners to turn in their firearms and be compensated.”

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“While we work on putting it in place, we made the decision to extend the amnesty order to October 30, 2025,” Jean-Sebastien Comeau said in an email to The Canadian Press.

Calls for Extension

The Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR) said on Oct. 11 that Ottawa’s extension of the amnesty “comes just days after” the CCFR filed an injunction application with the federal court, and after Conservative Party MPs Racquel Dancho and Blaine Calkins sent an emergency letter to Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc “demanding an extension.”

The CCFR also launched legal action against the federal government to fight the gun ban, with a decision in the case expected to be released by a judge before the end of the month.

“Guns so dangerous the Liberals say we can’t own them, but we are forced to keep them in our possession for 5.5+ years lol. Amnesty extended until AFTER the next election… the anti gun groups got played, hard. It’s always been pure politics,” said CCFR Vice-President Tracey Wilson on Oct. 11.

“In case it wasn’t completely clear to all Canadians, the Liberals don’t view firearms as a public safety issue, it’s all about politics and division,” said Conservative MP Dane Lloyd, a former soldier now serving as shadow minister for emergency preparedness.

MP Blaine Calkins, the shadow minister for hunting, fishing, and conservation, called the amnesty extension “a clear victor for common sense and law-abiding gun owners.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.