Alberta unveils plan to resist enforcement of Ottawa’s firearm buyback program

The provincial government has detailed its plan to fight Ottawa’s gun buyback program, describing the federal plan as an unconstitutional attack on the rights of Albertans. 

Details of the policy, unveiled in an order paper Tuesday, assert that firearms ownership falls exclusively under provincial jurisdiction. 

The motion states that the Alberta Bill of Rights guarantees the right to acquire, keep, and use firearms, as well as the right not to have property taken without “just compensation.” The motion promises to “use all legal means necessary” to actively resist the federal initiative.

The motion is Alberta’s formal declaration against the federal government’s ban on hundreds of assault-style firearms, which includes a voluntary buyback program known as the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program.  

“The Federal Firearms Seizure Initiative will unjustifiably interfere with the rights of law-abiding Alberta firearms owners, and violate the jurisdiction of the Alberta Legislature,” the order paper states. 

“The Federal Firearms Seizure Initiative will cause or is anticipated to cause harm to Albertans.”

Under the proposed legislation, Alberta would take all reasonable steps to ensure that neither the government, nor any “provincial entity” participates in the implementation or enforcement of the federal policy.

Over the weekend, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the United Conservative Party’s annual convention her government would table a motion that, if passed, would see the province refuse to enforce or prosecute people under the federal rules.

She said Albertans shouldn’t be prosecuted for defending their homes and families and that the law needs to focus on going after what she calls “low-life criminals.”

The motion is being introduced as part of Smith’s Alberta Sovereignty Within A United Canada Act, which is designed to allow Alberta to sidestep federal laws.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery, who tabled the motion, is expected to share more details on the bill at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

According to the order paper filed Tuesday, Alberta’s proposed measures to oppose the federal firearms program include refusing to provide any resources to the federal government for enforcement or prosecution purposes. 

The motion, if passed by the Legislature, would direct the Attorney General to regularly review directives issued to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service relating to the prosecution of offences for possession of firearms “and the right of all Albertans to use reasonable force to defend themselves in their own home.” 

Under the proposed plan, Alberta would also direct Mike Ellis, the minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, to take any necessary steps to prevent any police force or contracted RCMP police force from assisting with or participating in the federal program.

The federal government has banned more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms since May 2020. It developed a buyback program, which is voluntary, to compensate eligible businesses and individuals who own such weapons.

But there is an amnesty period on the weapons ban. If people and businesses don’t dispose or deactivate those weapons before Oct. 30, 2026, they risk being charged with illegal possession of a prohibited firearm.