Two Countries, One Border, Two Very Different Realities: Canada's Gun Violence Record in the Shadow of an American Crisis
On June 5, Canada’s National Day Against Gun Violence, Prime Minister Carney issued a statement that did something relatively rare in federal political communication: it described specific legislative actions already taken rather than aspirations not yet fulfilled. The strongest firearms legislation in Canadian history, introduced within weeks of forming government. The Assault Style Firearms Compensation Program actively removing prohibited weapons from communities. Red flag laws enabling courts to quickly remove firearms from individuals who pose a demonstrable risk. Licence revocations for those convicted of intimate partner or family violence. One thousand new CBSA officers and one thousand new RCMP personnel being hired. Eight hundred and thirty firearms seized at the border in the last year alone.
The statement deserves to be read alongside the numbers that make it necessary, and alongside the numbers from the country directly to Canada’s south that make it urgent.
The difference between Canada’s gun violence reality and America’s is not a matter of degree. It is a matter of kind. The two countries share the longest undefended border in the world, a deeply integrated economy, and a largely shared popular culture. They do not share a gun violence crisis. One of them has one. The other is trying very hard not to become one.
