Those who want to see the fruition of anti-gunners’ wildest dreams need only to peek across the northern border. Canadian officials recently embarked on a mission to confiscate hundreds of thousands of firearms under a controversial buyback scheme.
Of course, “buyback” is a misnomer as the government never owned the firearms to begin with.
Ottawa apparently thought that most Canadians would sheepishly hand over their weapons for a bit of cash. The government banned thousands of firearms models under the guise of “public safety,” and eager officials set up a pilot program to test the icy waters.
So, how did it go?
Officials expected far more Canadians to be willing to part with their weapons
The hopeful project was implemented in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Organizers had a goal of accepting 200 prohibited weapons in six weeks as a signal to the rest of the nation that the buyback was working.
Instead, authorities collected 25 firearms from 16 citizens.
Gun rights leader hailed the failure as an ‘embarrassing bust’
Alan Gottlieb is the chairman of the Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms. The Second Amendment advocate did not hold back in describing the debacle as an “embarrassing bust.”
In a release, Gottlieb noted that Canadians simply are not lining up to be voluntarily disarmed.
“It looks like Canadian gun owners are having none of this buyback foolishness, at least for the time being,” Gottlieb declared. “Now Canadian officials are claiming the pilot program merely needs to be clarified, and that more instructions are necessary to ‘facilitate participation.’”
Yes, the nation’s sporting public and those who want to be able to defend themselves and their loved ones from violent criminals simply need a better explanation from the government.
It’s the message, stupid.
Gottlieb correctly noted that the government acts as if fundamental human rights stem from its wisdom. This is a frightening position for elected officials to hold, believing that they grant—and may therefore rescind—essential freedoms.
The Canadian government just cannot grasp the will of the people. The disconnect grew so wide that officials commissioned a study titled “Understanding Firearm Owners.”
Authorities simply cannot fathom why the little people feel it is so important to defend themselves. They are at a loss to explain why this “buyback” program is not the toast of the town.
Instead, they tried to put a positive spin on the trial run.
Simon Lafortune is the spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangare. He said in a statement that there were “lessons learned” and “functional gaps” in the program.
“It was an opportunity to test the program’s processes and systems, confirm what works well and identify and address any potential gaps or challenges before the program opens nationwide,” Lafortune claimed.
The effort, for the record, only reached 12% of its goal.
Participation has been so tepid that the amnesty period for turning firearms in was extended multiple times. The latest drop-dead date is October 30, 2026, though that is also subject to change.
There are zero indications of a nationwide groundswell of support for the confiscation scheme and plenty of evidence that the people simply are not going to hand over their firearms, even for a check.
The crackdown on gun rights began in earnest in 2020 when the Ottawa government banned thousands of makes and models. Anti-gunners targeted modern sporting rifles as “assault weapons” and “weapons of war” to try to whip up support for the power grab.
Instead, it launched powerful criticism from Canadians who support gun rights. These law-abiding citizens blasted the effort as an ineffective program that will only take firearms from law-abiding citizens.
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