OTTAWA

— Starting Monday, gun owners will have until the end of March to declare their intention to participate in the federal program compensating individuals for turning over one of their government-banned guns, should they want the chance at money. 

After that date, gun owners who possess one of the more than 2,500 makes and models of guns which the government has deemed too dangerous for public use will not be able to receive compensation.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who formally announced the launch of the program on Saturday, suggested not every gun owner who registers to participate would be guaranteed compensation.

“I urge you to declare as early as you can because submitting a declaration does not guarantee compensation,” he announced. “Declarations will be processed on a first come, first serve basis.”

Public Safety Canada, the department responsible for administering the program, confirmed that around $250 million had been set aside for payments, in a not-for-attribution technical briefing from officials. It would determine compensation based on date of when the declaration was submitted, with the money expected to cover up to 136,000 guns.

Once submitted, participating firearms owners would be provided with information on collection efforts sometime in the spring, the department says.

Regardless of whether they choose to participate in the government program, gun owners with listed firearms face a deadline of having to turn them over to local police or have them deactivated, a process that renders them not useable, by the time an amnesty period shielding them from liability expires at the end of October, the federal government confirmed on Saturday.

Failing to participate would expose firearms owners to consequences including the possible revocation of their license, the minister said.

“The deadlines are real,” Anandasangaree said. “Please heed them.”

Speaking from Montreal, the minister referenced the Ecole Polytechnique shooting that took place on Dec.6, 1989, where a gunman shot and killed 14 women and injured others, using a Ruger Mini-14, one of the firearms the Liberals declared banned in 2020.

The minister also thanked Nathalie Provost, the Carney government’s Secretary of State for nature, who joined him at Saturday’s announcement, for her years of advocacy. Provost survived the 1989 shooting and spent years working as a gun-control advocate before entering federal politics in last year’s election.

The Quebec government has so far also been the only province to commit to assist the federal government in efforts to collect the banned firearms, having recently signed a $12-million agreement to help with coordination work.

Ontario has rejected taking part, same with Yukon and Manitoba. Anandasangaree said some “technical legal challenges,” also exist within Saskatchewan and Alberta, two jurisdictions whose provincial governments have taken legislative steps against implementing the federal program.

He confirmed on Saturday that those two provinces were not currently part of the program. Officials who briefed reporters confirmed that interested firearms owners in those jurisdictions would still be able register, given that the program was being rolled out nationally.

Anandasangaree said officials were working through issues with those provinces.

The minister on Saturday said that the federal government would work with the RCMP and local police forces to assist with collection efforts, as well as be ready to deploy mobile collection units. So far, only police in Winnipeg, Cape Breton and Halifax have confirmed plans to help, with many police across the Greater Toronto Area saying they have not yet made a decision.

Results from a six-week pilot program ran in parts of Cape Breton before Saturday’s official launch resulted in 16 people turning in 25 guns last year. The minister has defended the pilot as successful, despite how when it was initially launched officials said it could collect up to 200 guns.

The federal government also instituted a longer declaration period for the rollout of the national program as compared to the several weeks firearms owners had during the Cape Breton pilot in hopes of encouraging more uptake.

When it comes to collection efforts, Anandasangaree said “we have the capacity, we have the ability to ensure we have nationwide coverage,” save for Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The federal government says all possession and acquisition license holders would soon be notified about taking part in the program.

The long-awaited initiative was first promised by former prime minister Justin Trudeau during the 2019 federal election campaign, with an initial cabinet order banning the first batch of firearms, including the AR-15, announced in 2020.

Hundreds of more makes and models of guns have been added to that list since then, with some gun control advocates growing impatient with the Liberals to fulfill their promise of launching the long-promised compensation program.

Meanwhile, many firearms groups and their lobbyists have been calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to abandon the initiative, warning that it unfairly targets lawful firearms owners and lacks the ability to make any meaningful improvement to public safety or deal with shootings committed with illegally guns.

Anandasangaree at one point during Saturday’s press conference spoke directly to hunters, a group whom firearms groups as well as the Opposition Conservatives and other conservative premiers say have been wrongly included in the policy.

The minister listed how over 19,000 non-restricted makes and models of firearms remain available for hunting and sports shooting, in an attempt to defend the federal prohibition list and “buyback” policy from criticism that it amounts to a ban on hunting rifles.

The government also announced Saturday that the business portion of the compensation program which ran part of last year, would be reopening in the coming months.

Whether to include versions of the SKS, a popular hunting rifle, on the government’s list of “assault-style” firearms remains under review. While some gun-control advocates urge the Liberals to add it to the list, the minister has said additional consultation was needed with Indigenous communities, given how it is used for hunting.

–

With files from The Canadian Press

-National Post

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OTTAWA — While Parliament Hill swirls with speculation about potential floor-crossings, one Conservative MP is raising his hand, but for a different reason: To assist Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government navigate the Canada-U.S. relationship.

“I think everyone knows where I stand,” Jamil Jivani smiles and says, seated in his Parliament Hill office on Friday morning.

He proudly adds: “I am decidedly non-liberal.”

Despite political differences, Jivani is extending his hand to Carney and key cabinet ministers involved in the Canada-U.S. portfolio to offer his help, as Canada has yet to secure a deal that would see tariffs removed, if not lowered, and as the countries enter a critical review of the trilateral trade agreement with Mexico.

Jivani has made his intentions known, including through private emails to Carney and other key cabinet ministers involved in the Canada-U.S. file, such as Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Natural Resources and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson.

So far, nothing has been returned.

The 38-year-old is staying positive about the lack of response, which he concedes may be overly optimistic. “I hope they’re considering it.”

It is not just that the MP, who has earned a reputation for being unafraid to share his opinions, is eager to help.

He enjoys a unique relationship with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, whom he met while attending Yale Law School.

“There are just not very many people who are in a situation where I think they can have a direct line to the White House,” Jivani says.

“I do think I can at least get my phone calls answered, and I think that counts for something.”

Jivani characterizes his friendship with Vance as being that of old, but good friends, a bond built during formative college years. The type where Jivani describes, that should his cancer come back, a battle which he has been public about before being elected to federal politics back in 2024, Vance would pick up the phone, not only to call him, but also his mother.

Their families know each other, too, he said. As for their recent communications, Jivani says that over the past several months, they have not interacted outside of being in the same fantasy football league.

Jivani’s identity as a sports fan is evident in his office. Photos of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady, the giants of boxing, basketball and football, respectively, dot one wall. On the opposite side stands an arcade-style basketball net in the corner.

Asked who is better at fantasy football, Jivani says he has had more success.

“I think it’d be fair for me to say I’ve been better. But he might disagree.”

Disagreement could also be the term that has defined the pair’s relationship, at least when it comes to the political posturing of both their countries, with the Trump administration upending global trade through tariffs, which Canada has tried to buck, arguing that free trade has worked historically and would continue to do so in the future.

Then there were Trump’s comments about coveting Canada as his “51st state,” which set off a wave of anger.

Jivani, who represents the riding of Bowmanville—Oshawa North

, home to many autoworkers feeling the brunt of tariff anxiety and announcements of layoff notices from companies responding to Trump’s moves, says he spent the past year feeling a “tremendous amount of pressure” to distance himself from Vance and answer for the never-ending turn of developments coming from the Trump administration. 

The MP admits that the intersection of friendship and work “does make it complicated.”

“It’s very weird when the guy you play fantasy football with and the guy used to drink beers with in law school becomes a vice president,” says Jivani. “Like, it’s a weird experience.”

Despite the pressure, Jivani rejects any notion that he needs to disavow or “attack” his friend. Instead, he has embraced the attitude that you can be friends with someone you disagree with.

Not only does he have a personal connection to Vance, Jivani says that his U.S. network includes former classmates who have worked for other presidents and have cross-border business dealings.

“I do believe that if I took a flight down to Washington right now and said, I want to have a conversation with you (Vance) about how we can get things going between the Carney administration, the Trump administration, I think he hears me out,” Jivani says.

“I don’t know what he does with that. I don’t know all the things they have to deal with down there, but that friendship is a real friendship.”

Simply put, Jivani, who says he has proven himself as a “hustler,” has a simple pitch to the government: “Let me show what I can do.”

Others expressed skepticism about the practicalities of Jivani’s offer.

Sen. Peter Boehm, a former diplomat, questioned what the purpose would be in seeing another communication channel opened, given the prime minister’s direct line to Trump and the fact that LeBlanc speaks to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, not to mention the role played by Canada’s ambassador to the U.S, with businessman Mark Wiseman named to the post.

Then come questions about how things could work given the structure of government, which raises concerns about the sharing of co

nfidential

information and negotiating positions.

“In order to take on some sort of a role, Mr. Jivani would have to be in the tent,” he said.

Diamond Isinger, who served as a special advisor to former prime minister Justin Trudeau on Canada-U.S. relations, said “Canadians made very clear in this last election” that they believe the Liberals were the best party to deal with Trump. 

She also questioned what Jivani could add to the situation, when Canada has consulate staff across the U.S. and those in the embassy who are individuals that have forged “multi-decade relationships with key Americans.”

“Once in a while, a Canadian, whether an MP, business leader or a former prime minister has an established relationship with a foreign senior official.  Such fortuitous friendly pre-established relations can be helpful contextually and foster mutual understanding,” said Louise Blaise, a former diplomat in the U.S. 

“At the same time, official lines of communication on government business, must be kept as clear and streamlined as possible.”

Jivani describes his decision to offer his help as an evolution, saying that after his party’s election loss last year’s election he decided to stay quiet to provide Carney “space,” and did not feel it was his place to “speak for Canada.”

He began thinking differently after last fall when he observed that the progress Canada had been making towards a deal with the U.S. stalled after Trump’s uproar over a series of anti-tariff ads ran Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Jivani, once an appointee of the Ford government, has been an outspoken critic of the premier’s.

He suggested the derailing of talks showed “we don’t have the right interlocutors.”

Another concerning development Jivani sees is Canada’s reorientation towards China, as it looks to diversify away from the U.S.

Carney has defended Canada’s position as finding itself in the best spot among other U.S. trading allies, given goods covered by the Canada-U.S-Mexico trade agreement exempt, covering the majority of products.

He also said talks about outstanding U.S. tariffs on sectors like steel and alumnium would roll into discussions around renewing that agreement.

Jivani compares what he is proposing to be similar to the efforts being made by Canadian business leaders and as well as the approach Trudeau took under the first Trump administration, when Conservatives Rona Ambrose and James Moore, served on a council struck to assist the government as it renegogiated the former North American Free Trade Agreement.

Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, points to how Trudeau looked to former prime minister Brian Mulroney who used his U.S. contacts to assist the Trudeau government in those years.

Hyder, who says he does not know Jivani but credits him for making outreach to the government as opposed to just “freelancing,” suggests that whether it is through him or others in the business community, the chance to gain more insights and better access should be seen as opportunities.

“The closer we are together, the closer we work together, the more likely that we’re going to have success to help bringing about the conclusion we all seek,” he said.

Several premiers’ offices were contacted for comment. Only one responded.

“I remain convinced that the path to a positive resolution with our U.S. partners lies in strong, consistent diplomacy and a commitment to working in good faith toward shared priorities, rather than angry rhetoric and retaliation,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, said in a statement. 

“We must continue to build new relationships and leverage existing ones, which could include MP Jamil Jivani’s relationship with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, to advance Canadian interests and restore free and fair trade with the United States.”

Jivani is scheduled to host Smith later this month when she appears alongside him at one of his “Restore the North”  campus tours in Alberta.

With plans to attend next month’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, an event where Jivani said he can encourage dialogue and hopes to hear back from the government before that.

As for what Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre thinks about its overtures, the MP said Poilievre has also offered to help.

Jivani hopes that he would be tapped to do the same should his party one day form government.

“I would hope that, you know, if we had won the election and he were prime minister, and you know, maybe one day he will be, that he will be asking me to help too, right?”

National Post

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.

OTTAWA — Caroline Elliott has never run for office, or even put her name on a ballot, but she arguably became the early favourite in the British Columbia Conservative Party leadership race before even officially jumping into the fray.

Kory Teneycke, a onetime spokesman for former prime minister Stephen Harper and current ally of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, got the ball rolling on Monday

when he revealed on a podcast

that he’d soon be B.C. bound to manage Elliott’s campaign.

“I’m going to throw a ‘hey you’ out to all the people of British Columbia, I’m going to be moving out to your fair province … to go back to the campaign management business,” said Teneycke in a clip that launched

a thousand hot takes

.

Teneycke’s podcast bombshell blew open the floodgates, with a host of

well-known conservative operatives

announcing in the following hours that they’d also be joining the campaign.

By the time Elliott put out

a terse statement reading

“I’m in” on Tuesday, a large team of backroom talent had formed around her.

Some of the big names include digital guru Jeff Ballingall, Nick Kouvalis, a former advisor to

Toronto mayors Rob Ford and John Tory

and Anthony Koch, formerly a spokesman for both federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and ex-B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad.

National Post has also learned that Howard Anglin, former senior advisor to both Harper and ex-Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, will also be joining the campaign. As will

conservative pollster Brooke Pigott

, who’s worked for both Harper and Poilievre.

Koch said that, while Elliott is far from a “household name,” her outsized political appeal comes down to a rare mix of intangibles that those in the know have seen in her.

“I think (Elliott) touches on three key things: she’s very smart, eminently electable and a real conservative. That’s a very rare combination for conservative leaderships aspirants,” said Koch. “Usually, the best you can hope for is two out of three.”

Koch added that Elliott has steadily built a name in conservative circles for her bold commentary on hot-button issues like Indigenous reconciliation, with

her byline regularly appearing
in the National Post

and other right-leaning outlets.

Elliott is a co-founder of

new-right blog Without Diminishment

but will be

taking a hiatus from

the publication while she runs for B.C. Conservative leader.

Margareta Dovgal, a regular contributor to Without Diminishment, says that Elliott’s approachable political style and extensive formal education in Indigenous relations make her ideally suited to navigate the political minefield of reconciliation.

“I think we’re already seeing Caroline (Elliott) move forward the conversation on reconciliation, because she’s been approaching it in such a thoughtful, fact-based way. Not everyone agrees with her, but even those who don’t can see she’s a serious person,” said Dovgal.

Elliott, who holds a PhD in aboriginal self-government and liberal democracy, is an avowed critic of what she calls “divisive” policies separating Indigenous and non-Indigenous British Columbians, such as

closures of some B.C. parks

to the latter.

She’s also criticized government lawyers for “

pulling punches

” in

the recent Cowichan decision

extending Aboriginal title to tracts of private property near Vancouver, arguing that they knowingly failed to marshal the strongest possible arguments in court.

Koch said that the Cowichan decision

and other recent developments

surrounding Indigenous relations in B.C. have marked a turning point making reconciliation a mainstream political issue.

“I think (reconciliation) is an issue that’s top of mind for British Columbians and also people across the country right now,” said Koch. “And I think most honest observers will see that she has a very nuanced and appropriate position on this that speaks directly to the concerns of people who are very worried about losing the most valuable asset that they own, which is their property.”

Koch added that Elliott wouldn’t “just be talking about reconciliation,” noting that she’s well-positioned to discuss the province’s soaring cost of living as a mother of two young children who lives in the Greater Vancouver area.

Brad Zubyk, a conservative strategist and former chief of staff to Rustad, said that the star power coalescing around Elliott doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll run away with the leadership race, stressing that she’ll need to build a network inside B.C.

“This is a leadership race and, at the end of the day, leadership races are about selling party memberships,” said Zubyk.

Zubyk said the high-profile Teneycke’s association with the campaign could be a double-edged sword, noting that he took attention away from Elliott right from the get-go by scooping her campaign announcement.

“The podcast stunt was one-hundred percent planned in advance,” said Zubyk.

Teneycke is a polarizing figure among grassroots conservatives after publicly, and repeatedly,

criticizing the Conservative campaign

during last spring’s federal election.

Koch says that while he “doesn’t share” Teneycke’s opinions on the federal Conservatives, the very fact that the two are working together

—

alongside an assortment of conservative talent from various parts of the coalition

—

reflects the breadth of Elliott’s appeal.

He noted that there are a good number of Poilievre alumni on the team, such as himself, Ballingall, Pigott and former federal Conservative candidate Mauro Francis.

“At the end of the day, you want to win and you want to assemble the best collection of talents that can actualize that,” said Koch.

The timeline for the leadership race and date of the leadership vote have not yet been announced. Other declared and rumoured contenders include former provincial cabinet minister Iain Black, businessman Yuri Fulmer and B.C. Conservative MLAs Sheldon Clare, Peter Milobar and Harman Bhangu.

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

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