It’s no longer possible to purchase handguns in Canada

A freeze on the sale of handguns in Canada comes into effect today. The purchase, sale and transfer of handguns is now illegal, as a result of gun control legislation introduced by the Liberal government.

Following the fatal shooting of two police officers in Innisfil, Ontario on Oct. 11, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about gun violence in Canada during a press conference.

After detailing the government’s efforts to reduce gun crime, Trudeau singled out the Conservative Party of Canada, calling on Conservatives to stop obstructing stronger gun laws and measures and to support gun control.

“There are a few different ways that criminals get their hands on guns in this country. One is guns crossing the border, and that’s why we stepped up significantly on interdicting guns at the border. Like I said, last year we stopped double the amount of guns that we had the previous year and we’re continuing to invest further.
“The second way is when people buy guns legally on the market and then sell them to criminals. That’s going to be more difficult because we brought in a ban on assault weapons. It’s now illegal to buy, sell or use assault weapons in this country. And we brought in a freeze on handguns. It’s no longer possible to purchase handguns in this country.
“The third way to get guns in this country is by stealing guns from either gun shops or legal gun owners. And we’re also bringing in stronger measures to strengthen the rules and the conditions of storage. The vast majority of gun owners in this country follow safe storage rules. But we need to make sure that everyone does and we are strengthening those rules as well.
“There’s no one easy answer to solve the challenges faced by gun violence in this country. But I can tell you one thing, Conservatives are wrong when they say that the way to solve gun violence is to do less gun control.”
—Justin Trudeau

LIVE: PM Justin Trudeau makes an announcement in Surrey, B.C.
➡️https://t.co/CtXeEhq3iL

EN DIRECT : Le PM Justin Trudeau fait une annonce à Surrey, en C.- B.
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— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) October 21, 2022

“It’s no longer possible to purchase handguns in Canada”

A study on gun control by Léger found that large majorities of Canadians support a complete ban on importing, buying or selling handguns (78%) and assault rifles (87%).

This article was originally published on Oct. 12 and updated on Oct. 21, 2022.

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