Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced a long-promised ban on "assault-style" weapons following the nation's worst mass shooting that happened in the province of Nova Scotia in April. The ban on the sale, transport, import, and use of 1,500 varieties of assault weapons is effective immediately, though there will be a 2 year amnesty for gun owners to comply. Prime Minister Trudeau stated "These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only - to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time." He also said that a buy-back program will b introduced, though this has yet to pass.

While praised by some to combat firearm violence and violent crimes, others make the point that many weapons used in crimes in Canada are not obtained legally. Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer said that rather than put restrictions on "law-abiding gun owners", Prime Minister Trudeau should instead focus more on stopping illegal firearms from entering Canada in the first place. On the other hand, Mr. Trudeau acknowledged that most firearm owners are law-abiding citizens, but argued that the assault-style weapons serve "no beneficial purpose".