SASKATOON, SK: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to scrap its gun ban and buyback program after adding huge costs to taxpayers by banning even more guns today.

“Taxpayers can’t keep paying for this program that keeps getting more expensive,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Ottawa has already spent millions on this scheme without making Canadians safer. The feds need to scrap this program because taxpayers can’t afford it.”

The federal government announced today that an additional 179 types of firearms are now prohibited and added to the list for the government’s gun ban and buyback program.

The federal government also added an additional 324 makes and models of firearms to the list in December 2024. The total list now includes more than 2,000 different types of firearms.

The government said the buyback would cost taxpayers $200 million in 2019. Only buying back the previously banned guns could cost up to $756 million, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Government documents show that the buyback is now likely to cost almost $2 billion.

Ottawa’s buyback has already cost taxpayers $67 million since 2020. That cost is likely to rise to $100 million by the end of the year. The government has started collecting firearms from businesses but has yet to collect a single gun from individual firearms owners.

The National Police Federation, the union representing the RCMP, 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.”

“The RCMP union says that this program is a waste of money and that’s only more true with the increased costs of buying back more guns,” Haubrich said. “The federal government needs to listen to the police, cut its losses, and scrap the gun ban and buyback.”