There is always that one friend who talks big but does not show up when it counts. That raises the question: Is that friend really a friend?
For Ontario firearm owners and taxpayers, that friend is Premier Doug Ford. For years, Ford has spoken out against the federal government's gun ban and confiscation scheme, but he has not taken any concrete steps to block it in Ontario.
"You're focusing on the wrong group," Ford recently said about the gun grab. "I support law-abiding hunters and gun owners."
Those are the right words, and Ford is right to say them, but talk is cheap and it does not actually save taxpayers money.
Other provinces already acting
Ford does not have to reinvent the wheel. Other provinces have given him the blueprint on exactly what to do. Both the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan passed laws to stop federal enforcement in those provinces. The federal government confirmed that the program will "not run in those provinces" because of the legislation.
These laws are not perfect, but they show that Premier Danielle Smith and Premier Scott Moe are not going to take the federal government's scheme lying down. And that means a lot more than just talking.
Ford needs to act and pass similar legislation in Ontario.
Program costs won't stop crime
This gun confiscation scheme will waste millions of taxpayer dollars and pull Ontario police officers away from real public safety priorities. It will not stop criminals, reduce gun violence, or make Canadians safer. Every dollar spent buying back legal property from licensed firearm owners is a dollar not spent stopping smuggling and crime.
The federal government says this program will cost taxpayers about $742 million, and some experts estimate cost overruns could increase the final tab to $6 billion. Instead of wasting it on this program, that $742 million could pay for the salaries of more than 1,000 new police officers for seven years.
The program also will not do anything to disrupt the criminal supply chain of firearms. Only Canadians who legally own the now banned guns with a legal firearms licence can participate in the program. Since the guns were initially banned in 2020, making their use illegal, violent firearm crime rates have increased.
Smuggled guns a problem in Ontario
Ontario does not have a problem with legal gun owners. It does have a problem with criminals and illegal guns smuggled in from the United States. Law enforcement says this is the most important issue.
The union representing RCMP members says Ottawa's buyback "diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms."
"We know that the gun buyback program is going to have, essentially, zero impact on the crime in Toronto," said Clayton Campbell, the president of the Toronto Police Association.
In 80% of firearm-related homicides where the accused is known, they did not have a valid firearms licence. In 2024, 88% of the guns seized by the Toronto Police Service came from the United States. The Durham Regional police say that 83% of the guns it seized in the same year came from the U.S. Peel Regional Police say that more than 90% of the guns it seized came from south of the border.
Ottawa's program would have taken zero of those guns off the street.
What Ontarians actually want is action against gun smuggling and organized crime. In fact, 62% of decided Ontarians say the money Ottawa plans to spend on gun confiscation should be redirected toward law enforcement instead, according to Leger polling.
Talk is cheap. Ford needs to stand up for Ontario gun owners and taxpayers and pass legislation to block the gun grab in Ontario.
Gage Haubrich is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
