The federal government says it has spent $728,829 promoting Canada’s new “Red Flag” firearms laws, while only one emergency seizure order has been reported since the measures came into force in December 2023.

The figures were disclosed in response to a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Frank Caputo, who asked how much had been spent promoting the laws and how often they had been used.

According to Public Safety Canada, spending as of March 19, 2026 included a webinar, public fact sheets, translations, contractor distribution costs and a grant program intended to raise awareness of the legislation.

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The department said costs included:

• $25,597 for a February 2025 webinar aimed at provincial and territorial governments and organizations supporting people at risk of firearm-related harm.
• $50,849 to create and translate five fact sheets into English, French, eight Indigenous languages and seven commonly spoken foreign languages.
• $215,270 already paid to funded organizations under the Red Flag Awareness Initiative.
• $437,113 for program delivery and administration.

The government also said more spending is already committed. Based on signed agreements, $980,651 is earmarked for 2025-26 and $1.87 million for 2026-27 under a broader $3.7 million two-year awareness initiative supporting 25 organizations across Canada.

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said only one Red Flag order has been reported to the Canadian Firearms Program since the law took effect on Dec. 15, 2023. That case was recorded in Ontario in 2025.

The RCMP added it could not say how many firearms were seized through that order because seizure records are categorized too broadly to link specific firearms to a Red Flag application.