Province fires back at feds plan to enforce gun program

Posted on December 11, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Alberta has declared its refusal to participate in the federal program to confiscate banned firearms from owners who have not sold their weapons back to the government by Oct. 2026.

 In a Dec. 3 media roundtable, Justice Minister Mickey Amery told reporters that the Province would not participate or assist the feds when the program becomes mandatory. Simply put, Alberta will not enforce the federal gun law within the province.

 According to the federal government, participation in the program is voluntary, however most businesses and individuals are required to “dispose of or permanently deactivate their assault-style firearms before the amnesty period expires on Oct. 30, 2026, or risk criminal liability for the illegal possession of a prohibited firearm.”

 Last week, a spokesperson for the federal public safety ministry made it plain that in this case federal law usurps provincial jurisdiction. The spokesperson said that the Supreme Court gives Parliament the constitutional authority to legislate on firearms through the Firearms Act and related Criminal Code provisions.

 As the UCP was preparing to table its Firearms Motion on Dec. 3, Amery said that as a matter of principle, the Province would always reserve its ability to bring court challenges forward, when and if appropriate.

 “While this is a federal gun buyback program, we’re making it absolutely clear that we will not participate in any way in that program,” Amery said. “We will not cooperate with our federal counterparts. We will not provide assistance or support for their implementation of this program.”

 Meaning Alberta police will not enforce it on the Province’s dime. And Amery criticized the federal buyback program as being ineffective and misguided – a $742 million exercise in futility.

 “We don’t think that it’s going to address gun safety in this country, we don’t think that it’s going to introduce to reduce crime in this country, and we certainly don’t think that the law abiding individuals who are being targeted by the program itself are the ones that are committing the crimes,” he said.

 Amery said he would rather see the feds spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on border security.

 “Nine out of 10 of the crimes that are committed with a firearm are ones that are being committed by guns obtained illegally, and so our position has been clear: We want our policing detachments to focus on the real issues of crime that are plaguing Albertans here in this province, and it certainly isn’t going after your farmers and your sport shooters for holding a gun that was once classified as being legal…no longer being legal.”

 The media roundtable veered off course into the matter of gun-ownership-as-self-defence, as Premier Danielle Smith’s Dec. 1 quip provided the fodder.

 “I’ve got a little tip for lowlife criminals out there. If you don’t want to get shot, don’t break into someone’s house. It’s really that simple,” she said.

 That discussion deviated from the greater point of the Province using its Sovereignty Act to defy incoming federal law, but Amery came prepared with his homework on the ins and outs of gun ownership in Alberta

 “First off, I think that context is important. I think that a sport shooter or a collector, for example, is acquiring and storing and using firearms in a much different way than somebody who acquires guns illegally,” he said.

 He cited provincial statistics that carefully monitor the revocation rates for PAL and RPAL (possession and acquisition license) holders. In Alberta, more than 374,000 firearms owners are licensed, and the revocation rate is less than one per cent.

 With that context in mind, Amery again questioned whether or not the federal program is going to address gun violence in Alberta and in Canada. If most crimes are being committed by people who acquire guns illegally, why create criminals out of people who have done everything correctly? Amery vouched for the vast majority of Alberta gun owners by calling them the most vetted and the best-trained individuals to carry firearms.

 “They’ve taken the gun safety course, hunter safety courses, and they continue to abide by the law,” he said. “And we are certainly entitled to say to the federal government that we will not support you in this program.”

 Amery doesn’t foresee the program’s enforcement as being a priority for either policing agencies or for the Crown Prosecution Service. However, his assertion that the Province is entitled to decline support for federal law may present challenges going forward.