As Canada faces one of its most significant economic challenges in recent history – a full-blown trade war with our largest trading partner – the Liberal government continues its relentless campaign against law-abiding Canadian firearms owners.
The United States has imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian exports¹, threatening thousands of Canadian jobs and billions in economic activity. Yet, instead of focusing entirely on this pressing national crisis, Ottawa remains fixated on implementing some of the most restrictive gun control measures in a generation².
The timing couldn’t be more telling. While Canadian businesses brace for impact from retaliatory tariffs worth C$125 billion³, the government is spending precious resources and political capital on a rushed October 30, 2025 deadline⁴ for their expanded firearms prohibition program.
“The government’s priorities are completely backward,” says Tony Bernardo of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. “At a time when we need every industry firing on all cylinders to weather this economic storm, Ottawa is actively working to dismantle a legitimate sporting and hunting industry worth billions to the Canadian economy.”
The CSSA has long maintained that effective policy must be evidence-based and focused on criminal activity rather than targeting sports shooters, hunters, and collectors who follow the rules. The current administration’s approach does neither, while diverting crucial resources and attention from real economic and security challenges facing our nation.
As Canadian businesses struggle with the impact of American tariffs on everything from manufacturing to agriculture, the government’s ideologically driven assault on legal gun ownership represents more than just misguided policy – it’s a dangerous distraction from the real issues threatening Canadian prosperity and security.
The CSSA calls on the government to immediately redirect its efforts toward addressing the U.S. trade crisis and supporting Canadian industries under threat, rather than continuing its campaign against law-abiding firearms owners who contribute positively to our economy and communities.
For Canadian firearms owners watching their businesses and investments suffer under both trade sanctions and increasingly restrictive regulations, the government’s priorities couldn’t be more out of touch with reality.
