Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a total ban on the sale of handguns in the country, including private transfers between individuals.
“The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the national freeze on the sale, purchase, and transfer of handguns comes into effect,” said a statement on the Prime Minister’s website.
The action is not the product of a legislative process but rather a regulation promulgated by the Trudeau government.
The move marks an escalation of Trudeau’s authoritarian streak, following his government’s crackdown on pro-liberty activists in the Freedom Convoy. In February, those activists descended on the nation’s capital in tractor trailer trucks and farm equipment to protest COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. The protests ended once Trudeau cut off their access to the financial system and threatened them with additional recriminations if they continued protesting.
During those protests, Trudeau smeared the blue collar activists as racists before ordering financial institutions to freeze the bank accounts of protesters and their families, effectively hamstringing his political opposition.
