Gun rights advocates say they aren’t giving up their fight
Ottawa fell wildly short of its targets to have its newly-prohibited firearms handed over to authorities voluntarily last week.
Author: Quinn Patrick
A gun rights advocacy group is reminding Canadians that participation in the Liberals’ gun confiscation program “is not mandatory” as the deadline for registration came to a close at the beginning of April.
“The most important thing to remember regarding the government’s confiscation program is that participation is not mandatory,” Rod Giltaca, president and CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, told Juno News.
“In fact, it seems that the overwhelming majority of gun owners have rejected the program entirely.”
Ottawa fell wildly short of its targets to have its newly-prohibited firearms handed over to authorities voluntarily last week, with estimates showing only 10 per cent of the firearms expected to fall under Canada’s federal gun grab have been declared thus far.
“At present, the only mandatory action required by law-abiding gun owners is to dispose of their newly prohibited firearms by deactivating them, surrendering them or destroying them by October 30th 2026,” said Giltaca.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree expressed his dismay with the lack of participation in the program on Wednesday as both the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments announced their refusal to participate in the federal program last year.
“The program will conclude today. The enrollment period of the program will conclude today at midnight Pacific time and those who are eligible and those who have enrolled in the program will be able to seek compensation for their prohibited firearms that they will be willing to turn over to police,” Anandasangaree told reporters.
“Having said that, it’s regrettable that both the government of Saskatchewan and Alberta have chosen this path,” adding that it’s “not optional for law enforcement agencies to enforce those laws.”
The federal Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) is moving into its next phase after a national declaration period that began on January 19, 2026. Public Safety Canada says more than 52,000 prohibited firearms have been declared by individuals to date, alongside over 12,000 firearms collected and destroyed in earlier business-focused phases.
However, according to the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association, approximately 518,000 firearms in circulation fall under the Liberal government’s ban.
Since 2020, the federal government has prohibited more than 2,500 makes and models of firearms classified as “assault-style”, a term that gun rights advocates have blasted as inaccurate.
Those who did meet the deadline will enter a multi-stage process in which declarations are assessed in April, followed by eligibility confirmation and appointment scheduling for surrender beginning in spring 2026.
Meanwhile, the CCFR is en route to the Supreme Court to fight against the Liberals’ program.
The Supreme Court of Canada will hear a legal challenge from the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR) against the Liberals’ gun confiscation program.
A Federal Court judge initially dismissed a request to strike down the ban as unlawful in October 2023, ruling that it was not beyond the scope of the powers delegated to the federal cabinet.
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In April 2025, the Federal Court of Appeal also rejected the challenge, stating the Federal Court delivered “thorough and persuasive” reasons.
However, the Supreme Court granted the CCFR request on Thursday, citing that a key question before the Federal Court of Appeal was whether the government adhered to a provision which prohibits it from using regulations to outlaw a firearm deemed “reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes.”
“It may well be that, from the sole perspective of a sensible hunter or sportsman, it makes no sense to ban firearms that are well suited or even specifically designed for hunting or sport purposes,” wrote Court of Appeal Chief Justice Yves de Montigny.
“The CCFR along with a few other appellants are headed to the Supreme Court of Canada to fight the government’s abuse of the order in council, banning these guns in the first place. If the Supreme Court grants a stay of execution, the October 30th deadline will be extended,” said Giltaca.
“The stakes are equally as high for gun owners as they are for the government. So, the good news is that this fight is nowhere near over.”