Federal firearm buyback program has cost $67M since 2020, still hasn't collected guns

A restricted gun licence holder holds an AR-15 at his home in Langley, B.C., on May 1, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.

The program is designed to compensate owners of assault-style firearms that were banned by the Liberal government in 2020. Although many details of the program still haven't been revealed after four years, businesses and gun owners only have until the end of October 2025 to turn in, deactivate or dispose of outlawed weapons. The government estimates there are 150,000 prohibited assault-style firearms in the country.

The $67.2 million includes $56.1 million spent by Public Safety Canada and almost $11.1 million by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Nearly $11.5 million of that money went to external consultants for software, logistics, communication support and more.

The figures were acquired by Senate opposition leader Donald Plett through what's known as an order paper question, a procedure lawmakers use to get information from the government. Plett calls the program a "boondoggle."

"$67 million is an incredible, shocking amount of money to spend on a program that doesn't yet exist, which ultimately targets licensed, trained, law-abiding gun owners and not criminals," Plett said in a statement to CTVNews.ca. "And even more outrageous is the fact that $11 million of taxpayers hard-earned money has been given out to external consultants. Those contracts need to be made public."

When Plett pressed government Senate representative Marc Gold on the issue on Wednesday, Gold said he would not table information detailing the $11.5 million in external contracts.

"This government's position on its firearm legislation and its work to launch its firearms buyback program are centrepieces of its concern for the well-being of Canadians," Gold told the Senate. "It is regrettable that the program has not made further progress. The government is doing everything it can to move it forward."

The firearm buyback program was announced in May 2020 following Canada's worst mass shooting, which left 22 people dead in Nova Scotia that April. Canada followed the lead of New Zealand, which launched a similar program after a horrific mass shooting there claimed 51 lives in March 2019. In its first six months, the New Zealand program collected more than 56,000 banned semi-automatic weapons.

A 2023 order paper question from Plett revealed that 60 employees from Public Safety Canada and 15 from the RCMP were assigned to the Canadian program at the time. At least $117 million in funds have been obtained to further advance the program, according to Public Safety Canada.

Public Safety Canada plans to roll out the program in two phases, beginning with business owners who hold banned stock and then individual owners. Approximately 2,000 models and variants of assault-style firearms are covered by the May 2020 ban. Proposed compensation is based on original pricing and ranges from about $1,100 to more than $6,200 per weapon. The deadline for both businesses and individuals is Oct. 30, 2025.

In 2021, the parliamentary budget officer estimated that it could cost the government $756 million to buy back every gun at fair market value.

The controversial program has been criticized by the opposition Conservatives, gun advocates and even a gun control group.

In a statement to CTVNews.ca, a Public Safety Canada spokesperson said that work on the program is "well advanced" and that more information on the business phase will be available later in 2024.

"The Government of Canada continues to engage with various stakeholders and service providers to ensure a safe, efficient, and cost-effective program," the Public Safety spokesperson said. "Once the Program is launched, firearms businesses and individuals who have impacted firearms and devices in their possession will have the option to turn in the firearms and devices for compensation, have the firearms deactivated at the Government's expense, or export the firearms with a valid export permit."