NFA Buys Full-Page Ad in The Hill Times to Tell MPs: ‘We Vote’
TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s National Firearms Association bought a full-page ad in today’s edition of The Hill Times newspaper, as the House of Commons starts up and the governing Liberal Party outlines its priorities.
The minimalist, mostly black design is dominated by a simple message for the 338 members of parliament who are hired and fired by voters: “2.2 Million Legal Gun Owners” and “We Vote.”
Hill Times subscribers include many politicians and staff on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
NFA Election Advocacy
“The ad is part of our broader communication strategy to advocate for firearms owners, prepare for an election, and to promote NFA,” Sheldon Clare, the association’s president, told TheGunBlog.ca in response to our questions.
Gun Politics
Also in today’s Hill Times, separate from the NFA advertisement, the newspaper analyzed how the Conservative Party supports the rights of citizens who use firearms, and how the Liberal Party suppresses them.
The subscribers-only article quotes Nicolas Johnson, the editor of TheGunBlog.ca.
The report said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau no longer owns guns.
Throne Speech
Trudeau will present his new priorities when parliament resumes on Sept. 23 through what is known as the Speech From the Throne.
He shut down the House of Commons a month ago during new accusations of Liberal corruption.
Parliament has been mostly suspended since June 2019.
Criminalize and Confiscate
On May 1 and acting without parliamentary approval, Trudeau made it an instant crime for any federally licensed firearm owner to buy, sell, move or use any of their suddenly blacklisted rifles and shotguns.
His parallel confiscation order also threatens them with jail unless police seize their gear by 30 April 2022.
Stop the Attacks
TheGunBlog.ca isn’t aware of anyone who intends to surrender to the crackdown, suggesting the Liberals will fail.
The NFA is backing the first of six challenges in Federal Court to stop the attacks. Donate to the NFA here.
The editor of TheGunBlog.ca is an NFA member and donor.
Q&A With Sheldon Clare
Clare responded to our questions by e-mail and phone.
Clare Comments By E-mail
What prompted the ad?
The NFA is an active participant in lobbying, and has been since the 1970s and especially since 1984.
With the possibility of a fall election, we have been developing a campaign to challenge the Liberals on their attack on the Canadian firearms community.
Why The Hill Times?
To that end, we decided to put an advertisement in The Hill Times to give the federal politicians notice that we are paying attention, and that we will be watching the throne speech closely.
How does the ad fit into your broader communication strategy?
The ad is part of our broader communication strategy to advocate for firearms owners, prepare for an election, and to promote NFA.
We have adopted an aggressive social-media campaign strategy, engaged with Wild TV, and stepped up our lobbying efforts.
All of this is aimed at revealing the falsehoods surrounding gun control, and its false solution of classification and registration of firearms, and licensing of owners.
We intend to deliver pinks slips from our members to Mr. Trudeau sometime soon, pending suitable arrangements.
Clare Comments By Phone
The ad was designed in-house by Gael Forest with input from me and our board. He also designed the “No Compromise” logo in 2013.
We have other ads coming soon, as well as additional campaigns.
We’ve budgeted a quarter-million dollars to fight any election that comes up, and we have the money in the bank to do that, and more.
Our fundraising since May 1 has been spectacular.
We’ve had very good success with our direct-mail campaigns, and some other initiatives.
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