Response by the Minister of Public Safety
Signed by Jacques Ramsay, Parliamentary Secretary
The Government of Canada is taking action through its comprehensive approach to address firearms violence and combat crime. This approach includes removing assault-style firearms from Canadian communities, investing in border security and law enforcement capacity to reduce firearms smuggling and trafficking, addressing firearms violence, including in situations of intimate partner and family violence, and supporting intervention and prevention programs addressing gun and gang violence.
Since May 2020, over 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms have been prohibited. These assault-style firearms can no longer be legally possessed, sold in, or imported into Canada and can only be transferred or transported under limited circumstances. These firearms with semi-automatic action and sustained rapid-fire capability are not suitable for hunting or sport shooting and exceed safe civilian use.
The Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) provides an opportunity for individual firearm owners and businesses to seek compensation while coming into compliance with the law. While participation to obtain compensation through the program is voluntary, compliance with the law is not. All owners who do not participate in the program must dispose of or permanently deactivate their prohibited firearms and devices before the amnesty period ends.
The Government is committed to this program being as cost-effective and efficient as possible, while promoting public safety by removing these dangerous firearms from communities.To date, over 143,000 assault-style firearms have been declared, collected, or destroyed under the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program:
- On June 4, 2026, the second phase of the ASFCP for businesses closed, with more than 61,900 assault-style firearms claimed.
- Over 12,000 firearms collected and destroyed, with compensation issued during the first phase of the business program between November 2024 and April 2025
- Over 68,000 firearms declared in the individual phase of the ASFCP from January 19 to March 31, 2026.
Response by the Minister of Health
Signed by Maggie Chi
Supporting mental health is central to our Government’s mandate.
As part of the Working Together bilateral agreements, the federal government is providing $25 billion for shared priorities, such as mental health and substance use services. The agreements include funding to help to support the integration of mental health and substance use services within the health system. All provinces and territories included mental health and substance use activities in their action plans as part of these bilateral agreements. Negotiations are currently underway with the provinces and territories on renewed Working Together agreements, which will continue to provide jurisdictions with the flexibility to invest across the shared health priority areas in accordance with the needs of their respective populations, including mental health and substance use.
Our government is supporting mental health through a number of programs, including:
- the Youth Mental Health Fund, which helps organizations increase capacity, address service gaps, and better integrate youth mental health supports within the broader health care system;
- the Black Justice Strategy, which expands access to culturally relevant mental health and substance use supports for Black communities;
- the development of Canada’s first federal Men and Boys’ Health and Wellness Strategy, which will advance work toward a more coordinated, gender-responsive approach to improving the health of men and boys, including mental health; and
- the 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, which provides trauma-informed and culturally appropriate suicide prevention support via voice and text, 24/7/365, in English and French across the country.
Together, our investments and initiatives are expanding access, strengthening services, and closing gaps so Canadians can get mental health supports when they need it most