OTTAWA, ON – A new Leger poll released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) indicates that a significant majority of Canadians believe strengthening measures to halt the illegal smuggling of firearms into Canada is a more effective strategy for reducing gun crime than the federal government’s planned gun ban and buyback program.
The recent poll found that 55 per cent of Canadians see tougher measures against gun smuggling from the United States as the most effective way to reduce gun violence. On the other hand, only 26 per cent believe banning “assault-style” rifles combined with a government buyback program is the better approach. Eight per cent of respondents indicated neither option was most effective, while 11 per cent were unsure.
“The poll shows that Canadians know the real problem is illegal gun smuggling, not firearms owned by licenced Canadian gun owners,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director, in a statement accompanying the release. “Planning to spend potentially billions of dollars on a program that Canadians don’t think is effective is a waste of money.”
Haubrich added, “Law-enforcement experts are telling Ottawa to focus on smugglers instead of licenced gun owners and this poll shows Canadians agree with that commonsense reality.”
“It’s time to listen to Canadians and scrap the gun ban and buyback.”
The federal government first announced the ban on over 1,500 models and variants of what it terms “assault-style” firearms in May 2020, with a corresponding “buyback” program intended to compensate owners. While the government has begun the process of collecting firearms from some businesses, the broader program to retrieve firearms from individual gun owners has yet to be implemented, and strong resistance is expected.
The perspectives highlighted by the new poll echo concerns previously voiced by some law enforcement organizations. The National Police Federation (NPF), representing RCMP members, has stated that Ottawa’s buyback program “diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms.”
Similarly, the Toronto Police Association has previously noted the prevalence of smuggled weapons, stating, “There is no evidence that gun bans are effective in reducing this violence, particularly when 85 per cent of guns seized by our members can be traced back to the United States.”
The potential cost of the buyback program has been a subject of ongoing debate. The government initially estimated the program would cost $200 million in 2019. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) later estimated that just the compensation for the firearms could amount to as much as $756 million, not including significant administrative and other associated costs. The government has since expanded the list of banned firearms and accessories, likely further increasing the overall cost significantly.
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that he intends to “reinvigorate the implementation” of the gun control and buyback plans, though recent budgetary signals put that intention into question, considering no specific additional budget has been allocated to the plans.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is leveraging the new poll results to reiterate its call for a change in federal policy. “Ordinary Canadians and the experts both know this policy isn’t going to make anyone safer so the government needs to stop wasting money on this scheme,” Haubrich concluded. “It’s time to listen to Canadians and scrap the gun ban and buyback.”
Leger does note that “No margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample (i.e. a web panel in this case). For comparative purposes, though, a probability sample of n=1,537 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.”
