Liberals allocate $343M to confiscate firearms this fiscal year
The Liberal government's 2025-26 Main Estimates allocate $342,612,828 to their gun 'buyback' program, including over $260 million in grants for individuals.
Canada's Liberal government will spend $342.6 million in taxpayer funds this year on its unsuccessful gun confiscation program targeting legal gun owners.
The Liberal government launched a major firearm confiscation program on May 1, 2020, targeting licensed gun owners and businesses. Initially banning around 1,500 firearm models, the federal ban has expanded to roughly 2,500 models plus numerous parts and accessories.
After nearly seven years and over $100 million spent, they still lack a clear execution plan, according to the GunBlog. The initiative faces significant opposition from individuals, provinces, and police, as well as logistical challenges, with no known participants.
A firearm amnesty, originally until April 30, 2022, has been extended multiple times and is now in effect until October 30, 2025, allowing compliance and disposal of prohibited firearms.
The Liberal government's 2025-26 Main Estimates allocate $342,612,828 to their gun 'buyback' program, including over $260 million in grants for individuals.
Grants of $2.8 million to Winnipeg and $103,013 to Cape Breton Police were also allocated to assist with firearm confiscation until March 2026, according to federal documents obtained by the GunBlog. The timeline suggests Ottawa has likely moved past its October 2025 deadline.
Records show only a small fraction of firearms blacklisted by cabinet have been recovered, according to Blacklock’s. The RCMP reported 2,123 blacklisted firearms, with 723 surrendered and another 1,102 seized. Affected firearms were estimated between 110,161 to 518,000.
As of Monday, over $7.1 million in grants for Canada's 'buyback' crackdowns remain undisclosed, including recipients across municipalities, police forces, and businesses. The exact number of recipients is also unknown.
Funding confiscation efforts diverts resources from fighting violent crime, according to the GunBlog. "Sending police to go after honest citizens means robbers, rapists, kidnappers and carjackers will have greater freedom to do their work."
Toronto Police and the RCMP union assert gun bans don't reduce violence, as reported by the Epoch Times.
A 2023 Public Safety report revealed that most legal gun owners view the federal firearms confiscation policy as a wasteful measure that does not target the primary issue of illicit gun crime, which they attribute to gangs and organized crime.
The report also indicated declining willingness among owners of prohibited firearms to participate in a "buyback" program.
A recent Leger poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation found that 55% of Canadians favour combating U.S. gun smuggling to reduce gun crime, whereas only 26% support banning gun sales, ownership, and government gun seizures.
Alex Dhaliwal
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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Susan Ashbrook commented 2025-06-06 23:41:35 -0400Bruce, isn’t that the natural progression of these confiscations?
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-06-06 19:05:15 -0400Remember that guns are property. If they can take them from you, what else can they say is too dangerous and must be confiscated for the common good.
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Robert Pariseau commented 2025-06-06 19:02:05 -0400Meanwhile, anyone that is judged not to be a threat to Carney is let to pass.
