A federal report warns that Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree's "assault style" firearm buyback, set for October 30, will be a costly failure over a lack of compliance.

"The program's success is dependent on firearm owners' awareness and understanding of the program and how it works along with positive perceptions about the program and why it makes sense from the perspective of public safety," said the report, Understanding Firearms Owners. 

"The Government of Canada believes it is unlikely to be the most trusted messenger with individuals who own assault-style firearms. As such the program faces a risk of non-compliance."

Nicolas Johnson, GunBlog chief editor, condemned the political posturing. "The promise of mass confiscations was purely political from the get-go, designed to win votes."

"The Liberals promised to forcibly take stuff from people who don't want to give it up," Johnson told Rebel News. "That's quite a pickle. What kind of magic is even possible to create ‘positive perceptions’ of that?"

Ekos Research Associates, an Ottawa pollster, was paid $99,977 by the Privy Council to survey 1,712 gun owners nationwide. Two-thirds (67%) believed affected owners were "not likely" to participate, rising to 71% in Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to Blacklock’s.

Public Safety Canada allocated $342.6 million this fiscal year to buy back 180,000 "assault-style" firearms from law-abiding owners. Alongside the RCMP, it spent an estimated $101.9 million from April 2021 to March 2024 to construct the regime.

The Privy Council Office hired Ekos to survey firearm owners and learn their "experiences, motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours relating to firearms ownership and associated government regulations," the pollster said in its report.

Typical firearm owners have possessed one or two firearms for over a decade, and shoot monthly or less, it reads. Hunting is also common, with 45% attributing ownership to sentimental reasons.

When asked how they obtained firearms, 42% of firearm owners inherited their weapons. Another 83% maintained federal permits and followed safe storage regulations.

"The mass criminalizations and confiscations never had anything to do with stopping 'Bad Guys' or promoting safety," said Johnson. "The whole 'public safety' angle is a giant hoax. You don't stop 'Bad Guys' by stealing stuff from 'Good Guys.'"

"Bigger picture, it shows the Liberals, with the help of the RCMP, know they have dug themselves into a giant hole and are trying desperately to get out."

Seventy-six percent disagreed that owning a firearm creates a safety risk, according to the taxpayer-funded poll. Another 63% distrusted the federal government on public safety. Only 25% mentioned wanting to comply. 

Public Safety Canada's latest Departmental Plan indicates a fall launch for the Firearms Compensation Program, aimed at confiscating prohibited firearms from businesses.

Individual owners have amnesty until at least October 2025, owing to cost-related factors and concerns surrounding implementation.

A majority (84%) believe firearm violence stems from criminals/illegal possession, while another 78% feel legal owners are unfairly targeted by regulations. Both the National Police Federation and the Toronto Police Association argue that gun buybacks are ineffective. 

The program will cost $342.6 million this fiscal year, even before compensation. "That's a staggering amount of money for a policy that Canadians say will not make Canada safer," said Devin Drover, General Counsel for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

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