Canadian Government Bans More Guns, Bringing Total to 2,500+

The Liberal government of Canada has banned more guns this week, adding 179 firearms to its list of 2,500 prohibited guns.

(Note: The Liberal Party of Canada is a formal political party, like the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States. In Canada, it refers specifically to this established party.)

Several historical firearms are among the models that got the ban hammer dropped, including the M1 Carbine and Tokarev SVT.

The Canadian government says all varieties of firearms — both past and current versions — are now banned from being used, sold, or bought in Canada. For now, an amnesty order has been issued to protect current owners from criminal liability.

A federal buyback program will be implemented to offer current firearms owners a means of receiving compensation and turning their guns in.

"Let's be clear. These are weapons of war, firearms designed specifically to kill as many people as possible in the least amount of time possible," Rachel Bendayan, associate minister of public safety, told CBC. "Firearms meant for the battlefield should never see the light of day on our streets.”

Government officials say Canadians still have access to over 19,000 makes and models of guns to be used for hunting or sporting purposes.

But gun advocates say this just isn’t the case.

Calling it "deceitful and deceptive,” the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights balked at the government's announcement, saying that lawful gun owners are continually targeted by the government.

“Since 2020, the Liberals have insisted that their relentless targeting of exclusively licensed gun owners has had no effect on hunting or sport shooting,” the advocacy group said in a statement. “This is clearly and entirely false. In fact, licensed gun owners are the only group that have been targeted by everything the Liberals have done on guns.”

This isn’t the first time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has banned guns. In the past five years, under his direction, the government has banned almost all magazine-fed semi-auto shotguns and rifles. Additionally, in 2022, the government placed a freeze on the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns.

For now, the 179 guns listed in this latest ban join the current list, bringing the total to more than 2,500 outlawed guns.

A list of banned guns is available at the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights.

What are your thoughts on the most recent gun ban? Let us know in the comments below. For more on what’s happening in the gun world, check out our News page.