Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday. He has announced a limited launch of a buyback program for owners of banned assault-style weapons.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree launched a pilot of Ottawa’s buyback program for owners of banned assault-style weapons, one day after he was forced to explain private comments in which he criticized his government’s plan.
The federal government has banned more than 2,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons since May, 2020. It is promising to buy back any of the banned weapons in a program that is opposed by the Conservative Party and many gun organizations across the country.
It will start with a pilot program in the Cape Breton region of Nova Scotia. As of Oct. 1, notified people can file a declaration using an online portal. If it is accepted, they can then make an appointment with the Cape Breton Regional Police Service.
The pilot is expected to run for about six weeks and collect an initial 200 assault-style weapons. The program is expected to expand nationally later this fall.
“This program is voluntary,” Mr. Anandasangaree said. “Nobody is having their weapon confiscated.”
However, the government says gun owners who keep their weapons after the amnesty period ends will be breaking the law. It extended amnesty until Oct. 30, but Mr. Anandasangaree has said it will be extended further.
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People who do not participate will have to export, deactivate or turn their firearms into the police without compensation to be legally compliant.
The announcement took place one day after the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR), a lobby group, published leaked audio of Mr. Anandasangaree speaking about the program, including that the government was proceeding with it to win Quebec votes and that it likely can’t be properly enforced by police.
Asked about the situation Tuesday, Mr. Anandasangaree said he is confident in the program.
“I have every confidence that law-abiding citizens, first of all, will ensure compliance with the law,” he said. “Secondly, I also have every confidence that law enforcement will be able to do their job to ensure the implementation of the Criminal Code.”
Mr. Anandasangaree said a comment in which he offered, in a private conversation that was secretly recorded, to bail his tenant out of jail if he was arrested under the program was a poor attempt at humour.
On Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the minister and called for his resignation from cabinet.
“In all my years here, I’ve not seen this before. On Monday, a minister says that his program won’t work. On Tuesday, he says he’s going ahead with the program, a program that will take $750-million away from front-line border and police services to go after Grandpa Joe’s hunting rifle,” said Mr. Poilievre, adding that the money could be better spent on policing and other security matters.
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Throughout Question Period, Conservative MPs repeatedly called for Mr. Anandasangaree to step down.
While the Public Safety Minister often answered, other ministers took several of the questions, including Secretary of State for Nature Nathalie Provost. The first-term Quebec MP is a well-known gun-control advocate and survivor of the 1989 École Polytechnique attack in Montreal that killed 14 women.
Ms. Provost said in the wake of that attack, Canadians have been calling for assault-style weapons to be taken off the streets. She said the policy does not affect sport shooters or hunters with reasonable guns.
The program is expected to open up nationwide later this fall, starting with people being notified about a declaration period, according to officials briefing reporters.
In early 2026, people with accepted declarations can then finalize their claims and book collection appointments with local police to turn in their firearms. They will receive payment following a validation and verification process.
The program comes with pushback from some provinces, such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, and federal officials said that the Ontario government does not want its provincial force participating. They added that talks with provinces and police forces are continuing.
The government will also reopen its buyback program for businesses in the coming weeks for guns banned between December, 2024, and March, 2025, while also continuing to accept ones banned since May, 2020.
Overall, the program has been allocated $742-million.
PolySeSouvient, a gun-control advocacy group, said it is encouraged by the announcement. It is calling on the government to ban the SKS riffle before financial compensation is given to buyback participants.
The CCFR, citing the minister’s leaked comments, said the government is wasting a billion dollars on a politically motivated program.