TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s government-licensed firearm users bought almost 90,000 handguns in the seven weeks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s killing the legal market, a shopping spree that set records.
- We estimate total buying now exceeds 100,000.
- To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the numbers are being reported.
- The Trudeau administration said today it’s prohibiting handgun imports by government-licensed importers starting in two weeks. Almost every handgun in Canada is imported.
- Trudeau will then criminalize all buying and selling by government-licensed business and individuals, and confiscate legally owned handguns when the owners die.
- The free market remains unaffected.
Details
From May 30 when Trudeau announced his prohibitions to July 19:
- Individuals applied for 89,575 handgun-ownership transfers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told TheGunBlog.ca today.
- If a handgun was bought and sold multiple times, the total would include multiple requests for the same gun.
- The transfer applications include 28,905 first-time purchases, said the RCMP, which approves (or not) each transaction and registers each gun to its owner. That means about one-third of new shopping was by first-time handgun owners.
- Source: Robin Percival, a spokesperson for the Ottawa-based RCMP, sent the data to TheGunBlog.ca today by e-mail in response to our request for the information on June 29.
Analysis
- Biggest Day: Thursday 02 June, with 7,277 handguns purchased
- Daily Average Buying Before Trudeau’s Announcement: 307
- Daily Average Buying After Trudeau’s Announcement: 1,756
- Buying slowed as stores sold out of new models. The used market is still active, with guns offered for purchase selling out in minutes.
Handgun Ownership Rises to Records
Related
- Canada Handgun Imports Jump to Record in June After Trudeau Says He’ll Kill Legal Market
- Wes Winkel: Handgun Sales, Inventory and Market Outlook (Video)
- Canadians Bought 30,000 AR-15 Target Rifles in Lead-Up to Trudeau’s May 2020 Attacks
- How to Buy a Handgun in Canada: Regulatory and Procedural Steps
- How Much Does a Gun Cost in Canada?
Corrections
- Corrects spelling of Percival.
- Deletes data and chart on individuals with registered firearms.