Owners declared just 68,793 of an estimated 166,555 individually held firearms targeted by Ottawa’s prohibition and compensation program, roughly 41%, according to a government response tabled in Parliament.
Declarations do not equal surrenders.
Blacklock’s Reporter reported the figures were provided in response to questions from Conservative MP Bob Zimmer about participation in the Assault Style Firearms Compensation Program.
Yet the government has acknowledged that the phrase used to brand its program has no legal definition.
“There is no legal definition of an assault-style firearm,” Public Safety Canada stated in its response to order paper question Q-1375. Instead, firearms are legally classified under criteria in the Criminal Code.
The participation figures reflect declarations of intent, rather than confirmed collections or destruction. Of the declared firearms, 67,512 were designated for destruction and compensation, while 1,281 were slated for deactivation with a payment toward the expense.
Including business inventories, Ottawa estimated approximately 180,000 firearms were affected before the program began.
The $742 million “buyback” follows federal prohibitions introduced in 2020. Those regulations face a Supreme Court challenge brought by the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights and other applicants.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the challenge on March 19. The amnesty has been extended pending judgment, pushing the collection timetable into 2027 at the earliest.
Ottawa’s own research has also documented resistance.
A 2023 Public Safety study found firearm owners questioned the program’s cost and effectiveness because it did not target illegal gun smuggling and sales.
The result: hundreds of millions budgeted, repeated delays and declarations covering fewer than half the estimated individually held firearms, under a program branded with a term Ottawa admits has no legal definition.
