Trudeau BANS Property–-Prison Awaits Lawful Owners

Wall display with handguns and rifles for sale.

Canada’s gun buyback program masquerades as voluntary while threatening law-abiding firearms owners with up to 10 years in prison for keeping rifles that were legally purchased and pose no criminal threat.

Story Snapshot

Trudeau’s 2020 ban prohibits over 2,500 firearm models, forcing owners to surrender or face criminal charges after October 31, 2026 amnesty deadline expires
Pilot program flopped with only 25 guns collected versus 200 expected, signaling massive resistance from licensed owners
Cost estimates exploded from $400-600 million to nearly $2 billion while most provinces refuse to enforce federal overreach
Program targets hunters and sport shooters, not criminals, as banned firearms are rarely used in crimes and automatic weapons were already illegal

Government Bans Property, Calls Confiscation Voluntary

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government announced the assault-style firearms ban on May 1, 2020, prohibiting over 1,500 gun models through executive Order-in-Council without parliamentary approval. The government branded the confiscation scheme as a voluntary “buyback,” but owners face stark reality: surrender your legally purchased firearms, deactivate them permanently, or risk criminal prosecution. Temporary amnesty periods shield compliance, yet post-deadline possession becomes prohibited under Canada’s Criminal Code, carrying fines and imprisonment up to 10 years for unauthorized possession of prohibited weapons.

Amnesty Deadline Creates Criminal Class from Patriots

The January 17, 2026 declaration portal launch set the final countdown for gun owners, with amnesty expiring October 31, 2026. After that date, licensed firearms owners who purchased rifles like the AR-15 or Ruger Mini-14 legally for hunting or sport shooting transform overnight into criminals subject to arrest. The government expanded prohibitions in 2022 to over 2,500 models and reclassified 300 additional firearms in December 2024. This erodes property rights and punishes citizens who committed no crime, creating a dangerous precedent for government seizure of lawfully owned assets through executive fiat bypassing democratic processes.

Massive Resistance Signals Program Failure

The autumn 2025 pilot program on Cape Breton Island exposed catastrophic compliance failures, collecting only 25 firearms from 16 owners against expectations of 200 guns. Most provinces refused participation by January 2026, with only Quebec providing police resources for collections, leaving owners in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and other territories facing enforcement uncertainty. The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association partnered on Phase 1 business inventories identifying 11,000 firearms, yet expressed puzzlement over lack of budget clarity and provincial regulatory obstacles blocking rollout. Low turnout suggests hundreds of thousands of affected firearms remain with owners resisting what they view as unconstitutional overreach targeting law-abiding citizens rather than criminals.

Costs Explode While Criminals Keep Illegal Guns

Budget estimates skyrocketed from initial $400-600 million projections to nearly $2 billion, with $41.9 million already spent by late 2023 on 60 staff before collecting significant numbers. The program targets licensed owners whose firearms are rarely used in crimes, as automatic weapons were already banned and urban gun violence stems from illegally smuggled handguns, not hunting rifles. The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association vehemently opposes the ban while critics including Conservative senators highlight the disconnect: criminals ignore laws while registered owners face prison. This mirrors failed schemes elsewhere but with worse outcomes than Australia’s 1996-1997 buyback that destroyed 650,000 guns with higher compliance and lower costs.

Provincial resistance and grassroots noncompliance reveal deep opposition to federal gun grabs that criminalize heritage firearms ownership without addressing actual crime sources. The October 2026 deadline looms as a constitutional crisis, pitting Trudeau’s executive orders against citizens’ property rights and provincial sovereignty. Whether Ottawa will jail thousands of licensed owners for retaining rifles poses a test of how far government overreach can trample individual liberty under the guise of public safety while ignoring criminals who never obeyed gun laws.